So, I have some news! Elder Fraire was transferred... It was an "Emergency Transfer," which basically are just normal transfers here... So that's that. BUT. My new companion is Elder Cicon!!! I am so stoked!! He is honestly one of my best friends in the mission. We were in the same MTC group and he is just the best. We never even TALKED about becoming companions because we never thought it was even an option, like, "there's no way that would happen!" ... Lo and behold-- we are now companions! I'm excited. I imagine the Lord expects even more from me now that I've been given such a great companion.
This last week was a busy week! We anticipated Elder Fraire transferring, so we had to do a lot of preparations. He taught me all about the finances that he has to take care of, the houses that need to be negotiated and rented, and all of this stuff so I could pass it on to Elder Cicon. We both feel pretty new at all of this, but we are super excited for all of the memories and experiences we'll undoubtedly have as we learn. There's a lot of responsibility to pick up, so hopefully we can handle it!
I'm so sorry that this email is so short... There is so much happening and it's like 10:00 right now, so I am just going to share a quick thought with you!
I've been pondering a lot this week about obedience and how important it is. With how busy we have been these past few weeks, we honestly haven't had time to study a lot, which I have realized is actually super, super important. For a while, I thought, "We are honestly doing the Lord's work, I can't see how this could be a BAD thing..? Sure I want to study, but if there's work to do, FOR THE LORD, then we just need to get it done." I realized that, yes, I was definitely right about it not being a BAD thing. BUT. I learned something in a talk I read on LDS.org just recently.
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A friend of mine explained to me that sequoias are the world’s largest trees and that they can grow to between 164 and 279 feet tall in the wild. They can live to more than a thousand years.
Another interesting fact about the sequoias is that their unique and resilient bark protects the trees from forest fires and also repels bugs and fungi that can damage and kill a tree.
BYU students have walked past the grove for more than fifty years. Sadly, one of the trees died last year; and the dead tree needed to be cut down, leaving only a stump to remind anyone passing by that a tall, majestic tree once stood there.
The campus Arborist wanted to know what killed the tree, as the sequoia certainly did not die of old age. After an examination, he determined that the tree’s feeding roots had died from a lack of water.
How was that possible inasmuch as the tree had flourished there for more than five decades?
The Arborist discovered that the aquifer that nourished the little grove had shifted as an unintended consequence of the construction of the new Life Sciences Building, just east of the grove.
To me this is a perfect analogy of what happens when stalwart Church members, the “very elect,†those who for all appearances seem to stand tall and erect in the faith, but die spiritually.
Like the dead sequoia, these Church members once received their spiritual nourishment from the “well of living water†offered by Jesus Christ, but having been disconnected for one reason or another from that source, their spirit was dulled, and they eventually died spiritually.
Now I ask you brothers and sisters, how can we ensure that our spiritual feeding roots are always connected to the “well of living water�
These essential habits include the things that seem to easily slip away in the rush of our very busy lives, even when we are engaged in good things like pursuing an education, working to support a family, and involving ourselves in community and Church service.
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I realized in the last few weeks that so much power and strength leaves when we stop doing the simple things... Just by simply missing that study time, I have seen temptations becoming stronger and stronger, becoming harder and harder little by little. Elder M. Russell Ballard continues on, saying--
It's so crazy how sneaky Satan is. Even when we are doing very GOOD things, we can never take the chance of giving up that precious time with our Heavenly Father. Continual and current revelation is one of the foundations of this church, so it would only make sense if it was a foundation in our lives. If the church stopped receiving revelation, it would cease to be true. So I guess we can see how important it is for us to receive that continual revelation as well.
I know I kind of cheated by using a talk as most of my email, but I just really liked the talk. I hope you all learn what I now understand from this!
Have a great week!
Elder Welton
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