March 24, 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

So yes it is transfer day tomorrow, but do not fret! I am staying! :) Yay! I am actually really glad, both Elder Hernandez and I are staying. So the members are really happy about that! they have had a different missionary here every transfer which has to suck because that is just about enough time to get to know someone! Well I don't know really what to say this week... We did some service for a brother in the 5th ward, Brother Mauga, part Samoan and New Zealand. He is a super huge Polynesian guy who is also a police officer. He's really nice and has a great family. Guess what we did?! Greg I didn't escape finishing the basement completely because We mudded and taped his whole basement and trust me, this is the rich ward, they had a huge basement! But everyone was impressed at my mudding skills. We are going back soon to sand and paint. Yeah it’s pretty fun but I don't get to listen to the same tunes I did back home.

Here are some sweet scriptures I found this week concerning faith:

22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing--unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Alma 26:22

7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

Ether 4:7

11 But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.

Ether 4:11

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you--yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

Ether 4:15

So with faith you can know the mysteries of God and all revelations from the Savior, know things that have never before been revealed, bring thousands to repentance, have manifestations of the Spirit, keep us from wickedness and opens our eyes and hearts to the witness of the Spirit, we can also receive witness that our covenants are valid before God, which includes the covenants made with our fathers, such as Abraham. 

There are many accounts in the Book of Mormon and other books of scripture of the faith of them a long time ago: 

12 For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

13 Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

14 Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

15 Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

16 Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.

17 And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith.

18 And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

Ether 12:12-18

I feel sometimes that I am so close to finally understanding what faith is, and how I can show my faith in God, but then I lose that feeling! and I believe that is because God doesn't expect us to raise to his perfection all at once. The bar He sets for us to reach is like any other achievement we shoot for here on earth say with high jump, We don't raise the bar until we reach the lower height, we work line upon line, slowly increasing in our abilities. So I feel that when I am bursting with the Spirit and my mind is understanding everything about faith, and BAM I lose it, is because I had reached the bar that was set, and He raised the bar, It’s not because we all of a sudden lose our faith, we are just growing and are able/expected to learn more, to study harder, and ask more. 

I also found this in a sweet book I brought on my mission but am sending home. In the book "Drawing on the Powers of Heaven" (Grant Von Harrison, 1979), Grant Von Harrison outlines a systematic approach to acting in faith to receive desired blessings and outcomes in our lives. While it is by no means the only way, I have found this approach to be helpful in my life to understand what faith is and how to consciously exercise faith to achieve my goals and desires, both spiritually and temporally. I recommend reading the full book.

Until then, the following is a summary outline of Von Harrison's approach:

1. Gain a clear understanding of faith as a principle of power.

2. Gain a realization that the powers of heaven are governed by our individual faith.

3. Live righteously.

4. Prayerfully select righteous goals (desires).

4. Specify your goals (desires) in writing.

6. Specify when your goals (desires) will be obtained.

7. Plead your case before the Lord, telling Him what effort or sacrifice you are willing to make to achieve the goal (desire).

8. Consistently think about your goal (desire).

9. Use all of your willpower to think positively about your potential to achieve your goal (desire) with the Lord's help.

10. Consistently remind yourself that the added power and strength from God that is at your disposal is based on your individual faith.

11. Remember: The Lord is anxious to grant your righteous desires if you will but qualify yourself.

12. Make your specific goal (desire) a matter of constant prayer.

13. Pray that the Lord will enhance your ability to exercise faith as a principle of power.

14. When you face a situation that causes you to doubt your ability to achieve your goal (desire), learn to offer a mental prayer to request the Lord's help; then exercise faith that He will help you, remembering that if you lack faith, you deny the Lord the opportunity to assist you.

15. Repeatedly reflect on the promise made by the Savior: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7)

16. Recognize at the outset that your faith most likely will be tried.

17. Make certain you do your part in your effort to achieve righteous goals (desires).

That’s it for me this week. Here are some short sentences of things I have done recently. I went to DI and bought a pair of cords and two ties. Elder Hernandez and I put on our onesies last night and did some Tim Tam Slams! I almost have D&C 27:15-18 memorized (I picked that one just cuz I like it but I have been starting to memorize the scripture masteries just how we used to do it in seminary with a white board and erasing word by word.) I am reading and studying my Patriarchal Blessing lots. I can do 17 wide-grip pull ups in a row (those are hard!) I am trying to learn Spanish in my free time (which I have none) so that means my Spanish sucks and I probably won’t learn anything. I have a large list of cool things to do and places to go/eat at when we come back to Utah! That’s about it! haha I love you all so very much!

Love Elder Patterson

Here is a funny B-Ball photo