Email April 27, 2015

Talofahowdy Everyone! Well, this week was a little tough lesson-wise. But hey, that's okay! We were blessed to be able to find a lot of potential investigators who we have basic schedules for and will be able to stop by again to have lessons with! So that's really exciting! However, because we didn't have many sit-down, lessons that were super exciting I guess I don't have much to write home about concerning lessons. I do have one, though, and it was with a recent convert! We were able to have a lesson again with her, which was great because she has been sick for a long time. It was last night, actually, and it was just awesome. We sat down with her and she just shared her testimony with us the whole time. She talked about her testimony of Joseph Smith, of the Book of Mormon, of the Plan of Salvation - it was incredible. That has been one of my favorite things about my mission - seeing a life turn around, seeing a mindset completely changed, seeing sadness and depression turn into joy and confidence. That's what the gospel can do and does all of the time. We finally had a lesson with a family we've been trying to visit for a long time!!! We actually had dinner with them too! Steak. Mmm. Phenomenal. The lesson went really well! They haven't been reading for a long time, but they said they really want to get back into it. She has kept praying, though, so we are just getting frustrated because they aren't coming to church and I feel like that will be the thing they need to do in order to get their answer. Like John 7:17 says, we need to do the Lord's will and THEN we will know if it is true or not. We need to act in faith before we receive an answer. Whoa. That sounds like...faith! Haha. The principle of faith is amazing, incredible things happen because of faith! There was a great lesson we had with a new investigator in the YSA ward we were referred to by the sisters a few weeks ago, and his friend. During the whole conversation, his friend looked like he was in deep thought and when we asked them questions they both answered back with great insights! And at the end of the lesson we invited both of them to church and the friend said no for now, but the biggest reason he hasn't been religious is because no one has ever invited him to come to church. It was awesome! We're going to go back again next week and try to talk to both of them again, hopefully we'll be able to get them to come next week!!! Since I only have six months left, and because I want to be cool like my dad and older brother and do Spartan Races and stuff, I'm starting what's called a Six Month Slim Down in missionary terms! It's where you start working on dropping weight in the last six months before you go home so that you can look like you've been healthy and fit your whole mission even when you really haven't been. :) I'm going to look so good when I get home! I'm pumped. Okay I actually don't know how fit I'll be when I get home, but it's a goal I have! To share something I have been learning a lot about recently so I can end on a spiritual note, in the Book of Mormon there are multiple times when people make oaths and covenants to one another. One of the most notable in my opinion is when Nephi makes an oath with Laban's servant, Zoram, that he and Laman, Lemuel, and Sam won't hurt him and that if he comes with them he will be able to be a free man like they are. Until that point Zoram had been struggling with Nephi, trying to get free of Nephi's strong hold, to go back to Jerusalem and tell everyone Nephi had gotten the plates from Laban somehow and to incite those in Jerusalem to hunt them down and kill Lehi's family. But the second Nephi makes the oath to Zoram that he and his family won't hurt him if he stays with them, he stops fighting and follows them willingly into the wilderness. What? That's crazy! Why would he do that? Nephi could be lying for all Zoram knows and he could be walking into the desert to be killed. In our culture and society, a word is basically as good as a dime - most people don't keep their promises anymore. But if we look at the significance of a man's word back in their time and in their culture, we see that if a man gives another person his word he was almost giving him his life. When a man went back on an oath, they lost basically all social status and respect. Giving someone your word was a lot more than just an empty promises. That's how the Lord intends our oaths and covenants to be: lasting. God always keeps His word and He wants us to be able to keep ours. His oath and covenant and promise to us is that if we keep His commandments, He will bless us and He always keeps His promises. We need to strive to be the same way, and ultimately that's the goal we will have and hopefully the level of integrity we will be able to attain! Integrity is so important! I know that God keeps His promises. Always. He loves us and that never changes, and that's a promise too. I love you guys, I hope you have a great week! Love, Elder Cevering