Missionary Update from Brazil Manaus

Missionary brother in Manaus doing well

I thought I would drop a quick line concerning my brother serving his mission in Brazil. Missionary work is different for missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all over the world. In some places, apparently Brazil being one of those, a great deal of people welcome discussing religion, and the Church in particular, and a great deal of people are baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I do not write this to gloat, but rather to point out an important part of beliefs concerning missionary work in the Church.

In a recent letter my brother sent home, he spoke of an area that saw a great deal of baptisms regularly. He mentioned that this area has a lot of local member involvement, including invitations to church meetings, invitations to church activities, and invitations to speaking with the missionaries. Many people might wonder, particularly in Brazil with a large Christian population, why members of our church invite others to investigate our church even if they are already part of another church. The answer to this question is not going to be the same for everyone in our church, but typically has some basic motivations. As I mention these, I wish to preemptively clarify that I believe true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ do not attack, belittle, or mock other's beliefs or belief systems. Jesus himself went about in mortality teaching by example, leading others with love to partake of the goodness the gospel had to offer. He did not mock the honest, sincere seeker of truth, but carefully led them to truth. Therefore, if a member of our church has went about bringing neighbors and family members into our church in any other way than love and understanding, they have done so not following the directions from leaders in our church, and certainly not following the example of Jesus Christ. Now, to some of the motivations why we share our beliefs with others, including other Christians.

1. Families: A very important part of our belief system is centered around families. We believe that families, properly sealed together in temples of the Church, can be together forever beyond after this life. We believe that temples are sacred buildings where we can come closer to our Heavenly Father. They are not accessible to the general public, but only to members of the Church in good standing that have previously been interviewed by local Church authorities. Therefore, to receive this blessing of a family sealed together for all eternity, a person must be baptized into the Church and be in good standing. A strong motivation for many memebers of the Church is therefore to bring others to experience something that brings members of the Church a great deal of happiness and comfort.

2. Lifestyle: We believe that living in disobedience to our Heavenly Father's commandments will bring sorrow. We believe many times people in the world are sad and depressed because of a lack of compliance to what God has commanded. Thus, a motivation to share our beliefs in the Church with others is to help them overcome troubles in their lives that might be causing them sadness, or to do more of the things that bring happiness. For instance, members in our church are frequently given opportunities to serve others in the Church and in the community in general. These opportunities provide wonder opportunities for self-improvement and to bring joy to others. We believe that we ought to serve others whenever we can, and by so doing, the Lord will bless us. In other cases, people might be breaking the commandments of God - unknowingly or knowingly - that cause themselves pain and suffering. We believe that Church teachings and membership can help these individuals overcome these errors in their lives - just as we in the Church apply these same teachings and reliance on the Savior, Jesus Christ to continuously try to correct our own mistakes - that can bring them back in harmony with the Lord's commandments and thus bring happiness to their lives.

Fellowship: Being able to share a treasured part of your life - such as religious beliefs - with a friend or family member can be a wonderfully, powerful way to strengthen a friendship. Of course, for this to happen beliefs and feelings must be shared in a respectful and considerate manner. My wife has had a baptist friend since she was very young and has had many conversations about religion and personal beliefs. Their relationship has been wonderfully strengthened through these conversations although neither person has shown interest in joining the other's church. I believe the friendship could not be as deep as it is now without having shared these treasured beliefs over many years with one another.

I am sure there are other reasons why members of our Church share their beliefs with others that I have not considered. Hopefully, those not a part of our Church who read this will be able to better understand why their Mormon neighbors and friends try to share their beliefs with them, although they themselves might also be Christian. Also, hopefully if someone in our Church has shared beliefs with you in a less than respectful and loving way that they did so on their own and are not representative of the Church as a whole.

Youth Serving Missions

Youth LDS Missionaries

We have not had a posting on this blog in a long time, so I figured I would get things going again. My brother recently received a mission call to serve in Brazil Manaus area. I thought this might be a good opportunity to share some thoughts about missionary work. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, youth, particularly young men, are encouraged to serve a 2-year mission. The process of prepartion is quite interesting from outside the Church looking in.

Preparing to serve a mission

Youth are encouraged and taught from a young age faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, daily prayer and scripture study, service to others, and clean and chaste living. While many, both religioius and non-religious, might agree with this because of the discipline that is instilled in young persons in the Church, for the youth of the Church it serves as so much more. While these benefits are very diverse and cannot be fully listed here, I would suggest a few of these benefits are: 1, trust in something bigger than one's self; 2, committment to principle; and 3, service to others. In more religious terms: 1, trust in God; 2, obedience to the commandments of God; 3, recognition and sharing blessings from God with others. All of these serve greatly for the missionary work ahead of many youth.

Trust in God

Parents in the Church teach their children right and wrong, like other parents all over the world; parents in the Church teach their children to pray to God, like some parents in the world; parents in the Church teach their children that all they have and are is from a loving Heavenly Father whose only desire is the well-being and happiness of His children. Parents do not teach by compulsion, but as God has directed, with "love unfeigned" and "long-suffering" and with respect to agency of their children. This constant guidance, which often includes many bumps on the road, sometimes detours, and other difficulties through childhood serve to the development of each child's individual faith and testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This upbringing certainly characterized my youth as well as that of my brother's. Such delevelopment of faith and trust in God leads directly to submission to His will.

Obedience to the commandments of God

Many non-religious, and some religious, find the requirements of living one's religion restrictive and robotic. Such views miss the point that has lead us to our current status of submission to the will of God. That point is what we have already mentioned above; a deep and abiding faith in God. So, let us step back for a moment and assume for just moment that I am right. That my faith in God is true and well-placed; and that my faith in God informs me that He would have me do certain things to more fully enjoy His companionship and avoid the heartache and pitfalls that mistakes and miscues in this life will surely lead. Would I not therefore be foolish not to follow the Lord's handbook to happiness, i.e. obedience to His commandments. Thus, the youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, with their testimonies of God and His Beloved Son, Jesus Chirst, burning bright seek to go about their days walking humbly in submission to His commandments. Such a life includes abstinence from sex before marriage, viewing and listening to clean and virtuous media, and rejecting drugs and alcohol, among many other things. Can anyone, religious or not, really fault such a committed and disciplined life? Do not examples abound all over the world where such committment to God would lead to happier, healthier, safer, smarter, and friendlier children, families, neighborhoods, cities, states, and countries?

Recognition and sharing blessings from God with others

Lastly, when we live in accordance with the commandments, we find ourselves in prosperous circumstances. If not financially, then socially; if not socially, then spiritually; if not spiritually then mentally; if not mentally, then personally; or any combination of these blessings, each of which provides us an opportunity to serve others and bless their lives once we recognize where they come from. Let me interject here that when a young man or woman in the Church has already visited the first two things I have mentioned, that such a person will know by certainty where their blessings come from. That said, the Youth of the Church that recognize their blessings come from God feel an impulse to share what they have with others. Thus, a young man or woman with decent financial means might dedicate a portion of their income to the poor that are in need of food or shelter. Or a young man or woman that has been blessed socially with friends abounding will feel an impulse to invite the kid off on his own to join his group of friends. And on and on it goes.

With all of this said, some might have read this far and think this is only in the most ideal of situations and is never seen in reality. As I mentioned above, my brother is currently serving a mission. The process of preparation I have mentioned above aptly describes my brother's preparation for his mission. I have wathced him grow up and develop in these 3 things I have mentioned above, which has prepared him for a great service in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. Of the millions of youth in the Church, I am doubtful he is the only youth in the Church to have gone through these three parts of their development.