Week 56 in the Field - Stake Conference, Good Works, and Time

Found my new car

Naranjo Mall

Week 55 in the Field - Working with Youth, Ammon, and The Holy Ghost

Weekly Letter November 8th 2015

Hey everyone, hope you guys have had a great week.

This week was pretty great. We've been trying to work in sectors and divide our area up a little bit this week and we've also been working more with members to gain their confidence. We found 9 new investigators this week and have seen many blessings from the Lord.

A new mall opened up in our zone so after I'm done writing we're going to go check it out. Supposedly it has Papa John's and sushi and a bunch of other stuff.

One thing we've been trying to do is work more with the youth in the ward who can soon go on missions. It's great to be friends with them and encourage them to serve. I'm lucky to serve in a ward with a bunch of return missionaries who are also great examples to the youth.

We had our Primary Program this Sunday and it went well.  Our attendance went up to about 210 people in sacrament meeting (normally its about 170). For some reason they only let the older kids speak and each age group learned one song and the age groups sang separately rather then all together. Overall it was good but I did miss the primary program from home.

I'd like to share a quick thought this week about one of my favorite verses in the Book Of Mormon. In chaper 18 or Alma, Ammon is preaching to King Lamoni. As part of the lesson he teaches Lamoni, he teaches with power who he is and what his purpose is. His statement is a motto for missionaries everywhere:

"I am a man, and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true. And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God."

Surely, Ammon understood the answer to the question posed by the Lord himself in The Doctrine and Covenants, "Unto what were ye ordained?" The Lord proceeds to answer that question, saying "To preach my gospel by the spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth,'

"The Holy Ghost is a revelator," taught Spencer W. Kimball, "He is a reminder and will bring to our remembrance the things which we have learned and which we need in the time therof. He is an inspirer and will put words in our mouth, enlighten our understandings and direct our thoughts. He is a testifier and will bear record to us of the divinity of the Father and the Son and of their missions and of the program which they have given us. He is a teacher and will increase our knowledge. He is a companion and will walk with us, inspiring us all along the way, guiding our footsteps, impeaching our weaknesses, strengthening our resolves, and revealing to us righteous aims and purposes."

Teaching without the spirit is convincing someone rather than converting them. With the spirit we plant seeds that will, in time, grow into grand trees of gospel strength. Without it, we will vaccinate people, giving them just enough to develop a lifelong immunity.

I am grateful for the guiding influence of the spirit that I have felt throughout my mission. I hope that the words from this hym will be the prayer of us all:

Today thine unseen purposes

By faith's rare light we feel

Dear Father, make us pure in heart

To us thy will reveal

Father, let thy light divine 

Shine on us, we pray

Touch our eyes that we may see

Teach us to obey

Ours the sacred mission is

To bear they message for

The light of faith is in our hearts

Truth our guiding star

Love you guys, have a great week.

-Elder Dawson

Week 54 in the Field - Elder Perez, Rejection, and Charity

Weekly Letter November 2nd 2015

Hey guys, I hope everyone has had a great week.

This week I was sad to see Elder Jepson and Hebberth leave the area. Both of them went to Zone 18 which is one of the most dangerous parts of the mission. They should be fine there though.

My new companion is Elder Perez from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. He has 16 months in the mission and is really easy-going. I am now the Zone Leader1/  Lead Zone Leader in my zone. I'm glad to have this additional responsibility and I'm glad to be here with Elder Perez.

This week we were happy to find 8 new investigators and set 4 new baptismal dates with people. We were sad to lose a family of investigators, to whom we had given two copies of the Book Of Mormon last week. When we showed up on Saturday they returned the Book Of Mormon in a plastic bag, saying that it wasn't for them. A first for me on my mission. I'm glad to live and serve in a country where we normally face very little rejection.

This week we celebrated Halloween in the States and the people here celebrated the Day of the Dead. The celebrations normally take place in cemeteries and we don't have a cemetary in our area so we saw very little celebrating. Attendance at church was very low due to the fact that many were with their families. I did learn that here in the capital rich people sometimes celebrate Halloween. In malls they also give candy away to kids and Halloween decorations are sold at Walmart, all of the costumes and masks and inflatable pumpkins and stuff.

I came across an interesting scripture this week that I'd like to analyze a little bit in this letter. The scripture is found in the Doctrine and Covenants and reads:

"And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace."

I love the use of the symbol of a mantle in this scripture. A mantle symbolizes power and authority. Thus, in the story of Elijah and Elisha, Elisha inherits the mantle of the former and straightway uses the article of clothing to divide the rivers of the Jordan River. Like a mantle, charity grants us with spiritual power.

Joseph F. Smith contrasts the symbol of a mantle with the symbol of a shell. The former is warm and soft while the latter is hard and cold. Although they both serve as a covering, yet they are very opposite in their connotations.

The prophet teaches:

"The cultivation of kindly thoughts and sentiments towards others is always helpful...to lift ourselves out of our own shells in which, by our surroundings and habits of thought, we are encrusted, and place ourselves in the positions which others occupy in life."

If we cover ourselves with the shell of our own happiness we will always be looking in. Others will see us as cold, hard, and encrusted. However, if we take upon ourselves the mantel of charity we will be looking outwardly. Others will see us as warm, soft, and tender. We will be enveloped in the powers of heaven. Thus, the Lord's constant invitation to soften our hearts rather than harden them.

"The test, then," teaches Joseph F. Smith, "of our soul's greatness is rather to be sought in our ability to comfort and console, our ability to help others, rather than in our ability to help ourselves and crowd others down in the struggle of life."

"Kindness is the essence of greatness," teaches Joseph B. Wirthlin, "and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have know. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends; it softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes."

My invitation to you is to throw upon yourself the mantle of charity. Emblazen everything you do with a stamp of kindness. Look out, not in. Clothe yourself with power and speak with the tongue of angels.

Certainly I too need to work on being more charitable. To achieve this goal, I have tried to follow the counsel of Moroni who said:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God, that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure."

I love you all, have a fantastic week.

-Elder Dawson

Bus Shot

New Companion - Elder Perez

Having fun with my Halloween package

Week 53 in the Field - Changes, Baptism, Goodbye

Not a lot of time to write and didn´t type up a letter.

Elder Jepson and Elder Hebberth are leaving and I´ll be getting a new companion.

My companions said goodbye to several people this week.

Baptism of some of my old investigators in Minerva.

Gonna miss my companions.

Have a great week everyone!

Week 52 in the Field - Mixtún Family, Horus, and the Atonement

Weekly Letter October 19th 2015

Great week here in Guatemala, hope everyone else enjoyed their week too.

This week we had the smazing blessing of being able to find 21 new investigators. 8 of them were especially significant because they came from a single family, the Mixtun Family. Rolando and Olga are the parents of 7 children, 6 of whom are old enough to be baptized. I was working with a member of our ward, Jeaue Jarquin, and we were looking for Rolando (we had previously contacted him in the street and gotten his address) and we couldn't find the house. We decided to knock a door and see if it was Rolando's house. A young lady answered the door and said that she didn't know Rolando. We asked if her parents were home so that we could perhaps enter and share a message. She said her parents were busy but we kept talking and right as we were about to leave Rolando showed up. The girl is his daughter Veronica and she's been taught not to let strangers in, hence the lies at the door. Rolando let us in and we met the family and had one of the most spiritual lessons I have ever had in my mission. With a family of this size there's almost always at least one who isn't paying attention, or the mom is trying to cook, or a million other things that can happen. But in this lesson everyone was listening. As I recounted the first vision of the prophet Joseph Smith the room was heavy with silance and the spirit entered to testify of the Prophet's account. At the end of the lesson we had 8 new baptism dates for the 28th of November. Lessons like these and families like this one are the reasons I came on a mission.

This week we were able to help an old investigator move to a new house. His name is Carles Rodas and you may remember his because I interviewed him to be baptized but he didn't pass the interview. Afterwards he fell back into some old bad habits and got a girl pregnant. Needless to say, he blames me for much of this and there is certainly some tension from his end. Anyways, we helped him move and the experience was good and we gained a lot more trust. Hopefully he can come to church again with his girlfriend and they can start fixing some things to be happy in the gospel.

This week Horus, our recent convert, blessed the sacrament. Neat experience to watch him do that. He had to repeat the prayer a couple of times because he had practiced to wording incorrectly but it was overall a great step for him. We hope that he will be a missionary within the next couple years.

This week I'd like to share a couple quotes about the atonement. Such a topic cannot even be comprehended in its entirety even though a lifetime of study, but I hope that what I will share may, at least, lead you to pondering and reflection.

As human beings, we commit sin. Joseph F. Smith taught, "Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their own sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far their acts are acceptable before the Lord and worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to otheres, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made white as wool"

John Taylor taught, "A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise him to the dignity of a God."

Truly it is through Christ that we burst the limitations of this mortal sphere. We can be transformed and elevated, not merely just  guided and encouraged. We have that hand to lift us up. We have that bridge to close the gap. The tool is here; it is the atonement, and we must use it.

Have a great week,

Elder Dawson

Guy we found with a BYU sweatshirt (had no idea what it represented). We gave him a Joseph Smith pamphlet and explained that the sweatshirt he was wearing represents a University that is named after the prophet Brigham Young who was the prophet following Joseph Smith. I don´t think he really understood but we took a picture with him anyways haha.

Week 51 in the Field - Changes in the Zone and Family Kingdoms

Weekly Letter October 12, 2015

Update: Elder De La Cruz will no longer becoming with us, rather he will remain in his area and recieve two new companions, Elder Cubillos from Chile and Elder Perez from the United States. Disregard first part of the letter.

Well, another great week here in Guatemala. I hope everyone else has had a great week as well.

It looks like these next few weeks should be very interesting. From the call we just received from the assistants they will be sending us another missionary to our companionship, making us a quartet. The missionary's name is Elder De La Cruz and he is from here in Guatemala. He entered the misssion field the same day I did and is a happy, obedient missionary. It seems that due to some disobediences in other zones some missionaries (or perhaps just one missionary) are going home. This caused a chain reaction of emergency changes and President decided it would be best to send our companionship yet another missionary. We are actually really excited. We should be able to get a lot of work done and the relationship should be very interesting. Not looking forward to the bathroom situation, but hey, you win some you lose some.

Good week this week in the work. 15 new investigators and 71 contacts in the street. I've felt the spirit very strongly in the lessons we have had and I love being able to confide in the whisperings of the spirit. Often I feel like I truly am not the one teaching. The promises of the scriptures are certainly true.

We had two new investigators in church this week, Mario Zurdo and Pablo Sevillas. Happy to see furture priesthood holders progressing.

In recent years, we have been reminded the importance of the family unit. I think certainly it is important for us to remember that the family is so important because God lives in a family. Eternal life entails becoming like God and having eternal increase as he does. What a blessing it is that our Father in Heaven allows us to take part in the creation process and form little kingdoms analogous to the one he has.

Bruce R. McConkie taught, "Whenever the Lord has a people on earth he offers to make them a nation of kings and priests - not a congregation of lay members with a priest or a minister at the head - but a whole Church in which every man stands as a king in his own right, reigning over his own family-kingdom."

The glory of Godhood comes from the growth of posterity and the strengthening of these family-kingdoms.

"It is the blessed priviledge," taught James E. Tlamage, "of resurrected beings who attain an exaltation in the celestial kingdom to enjoy the glory of endless increase, to become the parents of generations of spirit-offspring, and to direct their development through probationary stages analogous to those through which they themselves have passed."

Brigham Young promised women of the church, "You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will be the mothers of nations. You will become Eves to earths like this, and when you have assisted in peopleing one earth, there are millions of others still in the course of creation. And when they have endured a thousand million times longer than this earth, it is only as it were the beginning of your creation."

The joy of Godhood is the joy of the infinite. The power of Godhood is the power of eternity. How important it is to remember our divine potential and honor the family. There is a great lesson in the fact that God asks us to call him our Father.

Have a great week,

Elder Dawson

Refills are a foreign concept in Guatemala so Taco Bell has a list of rules posted for the way refills work. It reads (in English):

Refill Rules

The drink is for you, only for you.

To be used inside Taco Bell within the next 2 hours.

Only in Taco Bell marked cups.

You must eat something from Taco Bell to qualify for a refill.

Thought it was pretty funny.

Outside the bus shot.

Attendance at an English class we are now teaching.

Carrying a bed through the streets of Guatemala.

Week 50 in the Field - Pride, General Conference, and Prophets

Weekly Letter October 5, 2015

Hey everyone, hope you've all had a great week.

This week we had leaders' meeting in the capital. We talked a lot about pride and the negative effect it has on the work. Pride was identified as a spiritual cancer that results in disobedience. Interesting conference. On Wednesday we relayed the information from the leaders' meeting to our zone and played a couple of games. Went really well. Overall I enjoy being a leader and I love my zone. We are seeing success and are overall a group of obedient, hard-working missionaries.

This week I met a guy named Jason while contacting some people in the street. Jason is from Honduras and he recently (about 3 months ago) moved to Guatemala with some cousins and brothers. They have other family members who are members of the church but they are not members. Jason let us into his home where we had a lesson with 8 people, six of who accepted a baptism invitation and date. These guys have had some problems in the past, likely have gang involvements and told us they smoke marijuana. They seem to have a real desire to repent though and Heavenly Father let us meet so they can have a chance to change their lives. They are all really new in the area so if they can start to make friendships with members of the church they could have good influences and start new lives. If they've ever had a chance to change their lives, it's now.

This week we also had a chance to watch general conference. In our stake they prepare a room for us with the English transmission which is really nice because listening to a translation is not nearly as powerful. This conference I noticed an emphasis in teaching the importance of the sabbath day, a defense against agnosticism, a stress on righteousness=happiness, the importance of women and the family in general, standards, and faith.

I hope we might treasure the counsel we have received from church leaders this weekend. Truly these messages come from God and not from the wisdom of man. President Joseph F. Smith, referring to the leaders of the church, said, "These mighly men who sit before this stand clothed in power from Almighty God, are not self-called. They have not been chosen by man. They have not chosen themselves, but they have been called by the power of the almighty to stand in high places in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as presidents as fathers to the people, as counselors, as judges, and as leaders, walking

No Electricity

Taco Bell

General Conference

Stake President

Out of the bus selfie

Out of the bus selfie

Exploring the Forest

Exploring the Forest