This story is about a young man who grew up in the time that we are in now. So this story starts at of course the beginning but as Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we know that the beginning is before our birth and that is the Pre-Exsistance. That is where this story starts. So this young man at the time has made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father's plan of Salvation this young man just like all the rest of us was tested even before we came down here to earth. He made the right choice and is now just anxiously waiting for his time to be called down to earth. He prepares and does all he knows to get ready to come down and receive a body and try his hardest to return to live with his Father in Heaven. He is sad when he gets his call to come down to Earth because he loves his Father and all of his friends that he has that are waiting just like him. However his excitement overpowers his sorrow! He is so excited to come down to earth and experience life, and to make him even more happy and grateful he is going to a family that has the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and his soon to be family are actives members in the Lord's Church. He is excited to start his mission on earth to accomplish his purpose to return to live with God and also to help as many people as he can do the same thing. This young man is so excited to come down to earth he can't wait any longer and he is born a substantial time early. This young man is a fighter though and even with hardships very early in life he overcomes and triumphs. This young man is blessed just like Nephi of Old. (1 Nephi 1:1) He is born of goodly parents and a firm, righteous home. What a lucky lad. He realizes later in life how lucky he really is to be born in the family that he was born into. As he grows up to be a kid he learns to love his family so much and make them #1. He loves his older sister and makes great friends with as many as he can. Still to this day this young man cherishes family and friendships dear to his heart and tries to do all he can for those that he loves. As a blessed child in the Gospel he is taught about the basics. About Jesus Christ, Heavenly Father, Prayer, and many other important things. He is taught about the Priesthood that his father holds and about a mission. He desires to go on a mission with all his heart once he reaches the required age. Even at a very young age he knows how important the Gospel is and why he is here on earth. As he gets a bit older he reaches the age of 8 and is asked by his parents if he wants to be baptized. This young man in his entire life has always wanted to do the right thing and make people happy. He knows it is the right thing to do to be baptized and so he tells his parents, yes. He is baptized and becomes the newest member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and then receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost. All done by the proper authority held by his father. He continues to live life as a kid and have fun and make great friends and try his best to Choose The Right. He starts to get older and speedily reaches the age of 12. For young men in the church reaching the age of 12 is very, very special. This boy has the opportunity to receive the Aaronic Priesthood if found worthy and able to do so. He prepares himself and is at the age of 12 found worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood and be ordained a Deacon. He jumps at chances to serve with his new Priesthood and serves in whatever callings or opportunities that he has. But as we all know there is an opposition in all things. (2 Nephi 2:11) This young man must go through trials to help him learn and to grow. It will be hard but through what he learns about Jesus Christ and His Atonement it will give him strength above that he can imagine to over power the adversary and triumph over the wicked. He continues to progress in the Priesthood and receives advancements at the right time. He constantly seeks to learn both secular knowledge and also spiritual knowledge as well as enjoy his life with friends and family. He becomes interested in sports and likes to play for the High School teams. While all this is happening he has one goal and that is serve a mission. He continues to grow up both physically, mentally, and spiritually. As he continues to grow up and use the Priesthood he has been blessed with he is able to attend a church camp during the summer. He excitedly goes not knowing what to expect. One week later when he returns home from the camp he has just had a life-changing experience that he will look back on for the rest of his life eternally grateful for that wonderful camp. He knows he has weaknesses as everybody does and he knows how to overcome them but they will be hard. (Ether 12:27) He still wishes with his heart to go and serve a mission and has to patiently wait his time to go just like he did before he came down to this earth. As he waits he continues to learn but secular and spiritual. He gets a job, actually two jobs to help him learn how to work hard and to help prepare to save for his mission that he is eagerly waiting to go on. This young man learns great things from the jobs he works and from the life he is living. He tries his best in all he does and works hard to overcome the weaknesses he has been given in his life. He establishes close friendships with people that he loves and know are great people even if they aren't members of the Church or active. His best friend of all though has the same goal as him and that is to serve a mission as well. It makes him think at times if he knew his best friend before this life. He continues to keep family #1 and learn more and more about God through serving with the Priesthood and helping those around him. Years fly by and his time is getting closer. He is asked to help with something that is so dear to his heart. That camp that he went to when he was a young teenager he has now been asked to help makes plans and preparations for this camp to help change the lives of younger kids just like it did for him. He is grateful for that calling and strives to serve to the best of his abilities. All while patiently waiting for his time to serve as a full-time servant of the Lord. He continues to work on his weaknesses and seeks others for there help as well he knows what the right things are for him to do. As this young man is going through life he seems to never forget about God. At times in his life he seems to be very close to God at other times he seems to drift off a little but he always knows what happened in the very beginning was real even if he can't remember it. He tries his best and he knows that is all the Father asks him to do. His parents and family are step by step always along with him the whole journey just like Alma and Mosiah are with there sons. But his time has now come! He wishes to put all of his secular learning on hold. He wishes to put his dreams, interests, and hobbies on the hault. He wishes to say goodbye to his dear friends and family for 2 years so others can be with there families forever it is now his time and he couldn't be ever so nervous but once again like in the beginning his excitement over shadows those doubts. He has been called of God to labour in a place he has never been and is completely foreign to him. He must travel half way around the world to reach this exotic foreign land and learn to live all by himself, spreading the word of God that has blessed him so much in his life. This young man is still currently serving his full-time mission to the Lord and is still just as excited as he was when the day he left. He constantly wishes for his mission to never end but knows that his life is in the hands of the Master. He is serving with all he's got and tries to make his Father in Heaven proud each day.
This young man is me!!!!:) Haha if you didn't already catch on.
Why am I sharing this story with you? Good question it is to see how the Gospel blesses an individual life and also families. This is a very very brief story of my life to this point but the whole journey thus far has always had God and Jesus Christ in the picture. The Gospel is such a blessing and how eternally grateful I am for it in my life. I cannot express over email and probably not even in words how grateful I am for this Gospel and for my life. It has been hard every day is hard I have weaknesses and struggles that not many know about and I have to repent daily for my mistakes but through Jesus Christ all things are possible and life is amazing. That is why I share this story with you guys today and hopefully it will help in some way.
Hi Mum and Dad hope all is well in Cali!:) Haha once again my letters always surprise me. I was planning on doing just a little shorter letter this week but I guess I was suppose to tell a story.:) Anyways things are going good over here. Some pretty big news about W_____!:) So W_____ has really been progressing lately and yesterday she came to Church and while we were having a lesson with here we asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she said YES!!!!!!:) We were super excited. So please keep her in your prayers right now especially but I know you guys do and we really appreciate it. Also another exciting note that also humbled me a lot. W____ has asked me to be the one to baptize her. Wow how special that made me feel. It does not matter to me one bit who gets to baptize who or who gets the credit because that is not what it is about but man that would be so special to be the one to baptize someone on my mission. Haha last week when I was talking about toothbrushes and all the things that you guys packed for me back home that is one bag that has not been opened on my mission and that is my baptismal clothes but once again that does not matter one bit. I do what the Lord wants me to do not what I want. We will have to see how it goes and I know it is all in the Lord's plans and in His timing and His Will and it will all work out even if I get transferred before W____ is baptized it will be alright.
Things are going great down here and me and Elder Lammi are doing great!:) The work is good and other then W____ it is just a lot of service and working with the members there the best.
Haha I'm so glad you guys got the video haha I thought it was super funny when I watched it as well. They actually take a lot of strength to get them going fast enough so they can make the sound and haha so I had to put all my strength into it but I don't know why my leg was going nuts but I loved your guys video as well haha it was the best!:)
Here is the video Naomi sent. She says it's called Bull Roarer.
(Sorry it's sideways, we can't figure out how to rotate it)
Indigenous to the Woomera area.
Here is Dad and Danica's version. ;-)
Aren't the Shoobridges the best?! Man I love their family and thanks so much for putting stuff in for them in the package and man there so nice to let us send it to there house man definitely family they are. Thanks so much for the package I am so excited to open it and man I can't believe I am going to be 20! Man how crazy!!!! I'm getting old and Patrick holy nuts your gonna be 1?! Man Happy Birthday dude! Love ya heaps!!!!:)
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| Happy First Birthday Patrick! |
Thanks for everything Mum and Dad yous are the best and I really mean it when I say I was born just like Nephi of Old to goodly parents. It even says it in my Patriarchal Blessing.:) Anyways I gotta get going sorry don't have time this week to answer your questions but write them in next weeks and I'll answer all of them. Have a great week! Thanks for all of the birthday wishes and everything you guys are the best. Love you heaps! Also Mum and Dad I want you guys to know that I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real!:) Love you all. HOLD TO THE ROD AND NEVER LET GO!!!!
Love Elder Stott
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