Multi Tool

When I was first made a district leader I was with a kinda new companion (he was the newest in the District) I asked him to give a discussion in the meeting that we have every Tuesday. I asked him to give it on how to be a successful Missionary. I am sure he did not know why I asked him to do that because there was a missionary who was about ready to go home who was a lot more experienced then any of us at missionary work. To be honest I was not sure at the time why I asked him to give it, but he gave it and he did an amazing job on it and I wanted to share with you what I remember of it.

We are all tools in the Lords hands and he needs us to do lots of things, then he pulled out his leatherman, this tool can do lots of things it has pliers, it has a screwdriver, scissors, it has a knife and lots of other things I can use it for just about anything. What about us? What do we have that the Lord can use? Are we going to be a knife when he needs a saw? We have been given many talents, we need to keep them sharp and working good. We also need to gain more talents so that when the Lord needs us to do something new, we will be able to be the one that He wants to helps him.

Elder Matthews

Easy way? or the right way?

       A few weeks ago my mission president asked all the Elders in the mission to read a talk by By Jeffrey R. Holland called "The Inconvenient Messiah" in this talk it talks about how Jesus Christ was temped and there was one part that really stuck out to me. Its in Matthew 4: 3
3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of  God, command that these stones be made bread.
It got me thinking did satin tell Jesus Christ to do such a bad thing? He told him to eat, and thats not a bad to do, we eat to live. The thing that was bad about it was "command that these stones be made bread."  He is telling him to do it the easy way not the right way.
When I was younger and my mom asked me to do something hard and I would not want to do it and complain about it she would tell me, "This life is a mountain and there is 2 ways of getting up it, there is the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is an escalator and all you need to do is stand on it and it will take you up no problem." (to me that sound awesome only having to stand and the rest is taken care of ) but the hard way, the right way is a cliff and the only way us is to climb. Both ways get you to the top, one is a lot easer than the other. But what the devil does not tell you is that the easy way keeps you weak and when you come to a part on the mountain of life where the escalator is not working and no matter what you do you need to climb, you will not have the strength and skills that you need to get past it with out getting hurt. Even though the easy way looks a lot better and sounds a lot better. When we take the easy way through life we stay weak, we don't gain any skills and we are choosing the path that satin chose, and wants us to take.
       Its my prayer that when satin temps us to go up the mountain of life we say, "I'll go up but not your way."
Elder Matthews


PS if you would like to read "The Inconvenient Messiah"  here is the link
http://lds.org/ensign/1984/02/the-inconvenient-messiah?lang=eng&query

Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy

A little over 18 months ago now I was in what is called the MTC (Missionary Training Center) where all missionaries go to learn how to talk to people and teach what they know to people and if you need to learn a language you learn it there. I spent 3 weeks there, and about twice a week we had a Large Group Meeting. During one of those meetings there were some missionaries that sang "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy" and it was amazing. After they sang it the speaker got up and talked about it and brought up what the song means to him and I thought it was really cool.


"Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore," Our Heavenly Father is the Lighthouse where we are trying to get to he is the light at the end of the road he is the safe place to be.

"But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore." When a ship comes to the shore there are some lights on the water that tell the safe way to get to the lighthouse. If those lights go out the ship could hit something and sink. Our Heavenly Father has given us the privileged of helping guide His children back to Him. 

"Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting struggling, seaman you may rescue, you may save." We always need to be the light so Everybody can see us and we can help lead people back to our Heavenly Father (Matthew 5: 14-15) 14 Ye are the light of the world... 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light so shine...
I know if we do what is right and keep the commandments that we will be a lower light that burns bright and will help Heavenly Father's Children come back to Him.
Elder Matthews

Knife? or a spoon?

Almost a year ago now I was serving in a little town in Wyoming call Powell. In that town there is a school called North West Collage, and in that collage there was a class called institute and in that class there was a man named David Allred. David being a Collage student one morning made himself a bowl of cereal and after he poured the milk quickly learned that all of his spoons were dirty so thinking what to do he grabbed a Knife and began eating his cereal with that. and of course he had a very hard time eating cereal with a knife.
In the class called institute he shared what he did but he added a little twist on to it because it got him thinking. What kind of tool are we in the Lords hands? Are we a knife while he is trying to eat cereal? or are we a spoon? Is he going to be able to use us when he really needs us?
I hope and pray that when the Lord has something that he needs to do I can be the person to jump out and say "I am ready and I am what you need!"
So are you a Knife or are you a Spoon?

Elder Matthews

Happiness

Yesterday I got a letter from one of my good friend who is serving his mission in Argentina and like all of his letters it had some jokes and a comic and some things that we send back and forth. One thing that he has sent every letter is a scripture that he found in is personal study and this is the scripture that he shared with me Alma 41:11


And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in astate contrary to the nature of happiness


It got me thinking how many of us are in the state of nature just doing things that we don't think about and how it gives temporary happiness but not lasting happiness, but when we do the things that God has asked us to do how much more joy we can feel. Sometimes it feels like he asks us to do a lot and it feels like he is trying to take away our freedom but I feel like God is not a dumb guy he knows what we should do so be the happiest we can be.
Alma 41:10 
...Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.
Elder Matthews