Week 57 in the Field - Divorce, Bee Hives, and Humility

Weekly Letter November 23rd
2015

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

We've had kind of a wild week over here. Just about all of our investigators have problems with the law of chastity and need to get married or need to get divorced with their former spouse and then married with the current one. One of our investigators in fourteen and pregnant. One of our ward's recent converts was about to get his endowments but today, after a year of sobriety, he fell back into his old alcoholism. We had a beehive at our house and I sprayed it with bug spray and knocked it down, luckily only getting stung once. Anyways, crazy week.

On the bright side we had a week full of great ward activities. Monday was a ward family home evening, Tuesday ward temple trip, Wednesday bonfire and dodgeball, Thursday movie night, Friday talent show, Saturday pot-luck dinner and Sunday ward conference. We had six investigators at church and found seven new investigators. This week was like the Book of Mormon say, "And they did fellowship one with another, and did rejoice one with another, and did have great joy." (Helaman 6:3)

This week I'd like to comment a little bit on Helaman 4:13. In chapter 4 of Heleman the Nephites go to war with the Lamanites; but because of the wickedness of the Nephites the Lord ceases to bless them and protect them. The verse reads:

"And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smittten..."

It was interesting to come across this verse this week in my personal study and read a related story in my ancestor Benjamn Franklin Johnson's book My Life's Review. At this point in his life Benejamin is in his early twenties and is serving a mission sometime around 1841. He finds a good field of labor in Union District, some miles north of Tononto. "I preached twice a week to large congregations," he writes, "and perhaps began to feel a degree of self importance not approved of by the Lord." In one occasion, Benejamin planned to address his congregation and speak about the prophecy of Daniel. "With a degree of self-confidence," he says, "I went to the stand with a feeling akin to exultation in the large congregation, and in what I felt so sure I should be able to say to them. I opened the meeting as usual, took my Bible and began to read from Daniel, but the scripture that had seemed so full of light was now dark. I turned to others, but all were dark. The light of the Lord had left me, and I stood there alone before that large congregation, alone in my own strength, and in my nakedness I almost felt a horror of myself. I stood there speechless, and mortified. And oh, the sense of ingratitude to the Lord that came over me. To think that He had helped me, and that all I was He had made me, and now I stood there in my own strength, and was humbled to the dust...I was but a plow boy sent out like the apostles of old, to preach by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and that without it, I was nothing."

Bejamin later asks God for forgiveness and receives the spirit again. In fact, just a short time following this incident, he has the spirit so abundantly that he preaches to a tribe of Mohawk Indians in their native language through the Gift of Tongues. But certainly in this occasion Benjamin learned the truthfulness of the Lord's warning in D&C 42:14 "And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach."

Surely we must show gratitude to the Lord for what he gives us. If we fail to do so, God may leave us alone to show us how much we really do need him. President Joseph F. Smith taught, "The spirit of gratitude is always pleasant and satisfying because it carries with it a sense of helpfulness to others; it begets love and friendship, and engenders divine influence. Gratitude is said to be the memory of the heart. And where there is an absence of gratitude either to God or man, there is the presence of vanity and self-sufficiency."

Thomas Gibbons expresses the ungrateful man thusly:

That man may last, but never lives,
Who much receives, but nothing gives;
Whom non can love, whom noe can thank,
Creation's blot, creation's blank.

Let us all be more grateful towards the Lord for our bounteous blessings. As we do so we will surely be blessed with his spirit and will not be left alone.

I love you all, have a great week.

-Elder Dawson

Beehive in our House

Ward Talent Show

To Mom:

Is your zone/district going to get together to do anything? 

We are going to buy pumpkin pie and see if we can make funeral potatoes in the oven at the stake center. Turkeys are really expensive here but we might buy a chicken.

To Grandma:

Just wondering if you ever get to accompany on the piano at your meetings?  

No. There is a piano (but not an organ) but no one knows how to play. Fortunately it comes with all the hyms on it so you just find the hyms and press play and it plays itself basically. So we have a ward "pianist" but he just presses play on the hyms. I don´t have any time to practice so I never play hymns.

Also, were The photos you sent from the Mall---Is that Mall new or is it the one with a really nice theater in it? 

That mall is new, it opened less than a month ago. You may have went to Miraflores or Metra Norte? 

Any requests for your Christmas package?  Did your seeds produce anything?

If you could send some pictures that would be cool. Not sure if you still have pictures from the trips Jayden and I took with you guys when we were kids? We have the supplies for the garden project but we need to set apart some time to plant still.

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.