Beware Of Pride And Let Us Choose To Be Humble

Just Another Rainy Day

  Landslide From All The Rain

Tortillas for the week 28, six days of rain and a pair of shoes that have been wet for six days.

Saying Goodbye To Elder Gates

No changes for us. I’m grateful because Elder Ipanaque and I have work to do as a companionship and as a branch presidency. Elder Gates and Elder Smith go home on Tuesday. Those two guys have taught me so much. I’m so grateful I had the opportunity to learn from them and to serve with them.

My Two Favorite Hermanas And Nacho

Pineapple Pie

This week went by super-fast but at some moments super slow. So we made some changes this week, we were eating lunch everyday with the same sister and her family and I’m so grateful for her willingness to feed us but we felt we needed to eat lunch with a different family from the branch every day. After the meal we sit down with the family and teach them a discussion. It has been amazing. It has really helped us teach better and it has been a great opportunity to build relationships of trust with members of the branch. We are also able to clear up issues, to strengthen testimonies and faith. I love that we are doing this, it helps me to rely more on the spirit and understand their needs as church members so we need to teach them differently. I have seen that the members here know more than they think they do. I have also felt so much love from these families. When we come to their homes they are so happy to see us, their faces truly light up and they are excited for us to teach them. It is so cool and is truly a rewarding experience being with the families of our branch and serving them as they are so willing to feed us.

Zone Soccer: Team Domino's

We had zone conference this week and Elder Gates gave his last message and his last testimony to the zone, boy was it a good talk! He talked about obedience. He said if you are not obedient it will catch up with you sometime in the mission or when return home. The feeling you will get about your disobedience is horrible, he then said the feeling is not worth it, it is better to give things up than to have the guilt bringing you down. He also said being disobedient is prideful and when he said that I thought back to a talk I read on Tuesday by Elder Ezra Taft Benson, Beware of Pride, (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng) When I read this talk I became aware that I am prideful in things I wasn’t even aware of. This talk also made me think back to a time in my life when I became super cocky and prideful and it cost me a lot. It was my last year of football, after I started against Alta I thought I was the bomb and I thought I was the best. I became really prideful and cocky. Because of that pride some not so good experience happened and I became angry with coaches and Heavenly Father. It was a dark time in my life because of my bitterness. I knew I had to change and trust in the Lord and His plan for me. I had to stop saying why is this happening to me and let go of the anger and bitterness. When I did that I felt my hardness in my heart go away; the Savior Jesus Christ reached down and lifted me up through the tender mercy of the atonement. I knew that He understood my pain and walked with me in my darkest hour. The Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for me and for all of us. After that I became less and less prideful. This talk also taught that pride is a missionary’s worst enemy and that pride will kill your spirit. “Pride keeps them from yielding their hearts unto God.” Pride can also cost you your family and the church. At times we have the attitude that pride cannot affect us, it will because pride catches up with everybody at some point in their life. For example as President Benson said, “It was through pride that Christ was crucified. The Pharisees were wroth because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which was a threat to their position, and so they plotted His death.” Because of their pride their day of judgment won’t be a pretty one for them. I also know that disobedience is pride. When we are disobedient we are saying to Heavenly Father that our way is better than His. I testify that is false. I pray that we may all may be obedient because when we are obedient we have access to the priesthood power, blessings from Father in Heaven, a stronger testimony and many more amazing things. In the words of President Benson “The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. It is the broken heart and contrite spirit.” I ask as President Benson, “Let us Choose to be Humble.”

Delivering Firewood

Chopping And Delivering Firewood: Tired But A Good Day

We had an amazing lesson this week with this less active brother, his wife who is not a member and their little boy. As we were talking with him he was sharing with us experiences that he has had in his life and you could feel his testimony, the only problem he has is that he works Sunday. He flat out told us that we he wants to go to church with his wife and little boy. He also told us he is teaching his little boy how to pray. He shared with us of one of the prayers his little boy said and when was repeating the words of the prayer that was said by his little boy you could feel the sincerity of this child’s prayer. As he was sharing this experience I thought of the hymn A Child’s Prayer. These words of that song came to my mind, “Pray He is there, speak He is listening, you are His child, His love now surrounds you, HE HEARS YOUR PRAYER; He loves the children.” I testify Heavenly Father does answer every child’s prayer because you are HIS child. He will answer every prayer on His time because He knows when we need our answers. As we continued to talk I looked at this good brother and said, “Tito you are a great Dad but your missing something.” And he said, “I know not going to church.” I smiled and yes but you are missing the priesthood, you serving as your family’s spiritual leader. Your home needs the priesthood to bless your son and your wife. The Book of Mormon and the priesthood are protection from Satan. It was a very powerful lesson. I testify this is God’s work.

Elder J. Mac

I also read another talk this week by the one and only Lavell Edwards, Prepare For A Mission. I love these words he shared, “The ability we have to handle adversity will determine the degree of success that we will have in life. This is where the gospel can be the greatest of help to us. The power of the Holy Ghost is the greatest source of strength and comfort we can have in our lives. The Holy Ghost will not only help us in times of need, but will help us to gain a firm testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, thereby preparing us for life.” You can face adversity with a great attitude because He stands by you to strengthen you in your greatest hour of need. So let us become like children always happy and full of love. Take time each day to focus on our Savior and His tender mercies and go about doing good. 

Just A Few Cow Crossing The Road

Nature Pics

What I love about Mom is that I got to cheer for her in her bike races. GO GO GO!!! What I love about Dad is that he holds the priesthood and also he taught me how to be the best feed man in the feed zone. 

More Photo Skills

With love, Ducks Forever,
Elder Mcilmoil
June 9, 2014

Scripture of the week: Alma 23:7 

Something I learned from zone conference: “You want to know the secret of success. Here it is. Do you remember how badly you wanted to breathe when you couldn’t? You will be successful when you want success as bad as you want to breathe. When you want success that badly, you will have it. That’s the secret of success.” That should be our desire to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ; that is how bad we should want it as bad as we want to breathe. 

“Remember that the only real control is self-control” and “Bold we need to be.” 
Elder Jeffery R. Holland

“The ability we have to handle adversity will determine the degree of success that we will have in life.” Lavell Edwards