Monday, June 23, 2014

LEAVING

Hey everyone!  I'm sorry I don’t have time to send pictures or write a message for this week because I'm being transferred tomorrow morning. Been running around this morning trying to pack up and send stuff home and figure all of these things out.

It's bittersweet to me; saying bye to people that I've really gotten to know well over these past months. I have been in this county for 7 transfers; I know basically everyone within a 60 mile radius. Saying bye to people I met the 1st of September last year is really hard; they feel like family to me.  I've gotten to know them so well, but I thank my Father in Heaven for putting them in my life.

Truly I will never forget Alamo, Magdalena and Socorro and all of the wonderful people I have come to love more than life itself.  All I desire is for all of them to continue in righteousness and to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I look forward to the day I return and see all of the people who have helped change me into the man I am today!

New chapter of my mission starts tomorrow...  which means a new adventure that I can't wait to start!

Love to you all!

I'll tell you all where I am at soon!

Elder Taylor

Aquishi ( Laters

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Our Life On Earth

It's been a great week!  I've learned so much; from spiritual knowledge to secular knowledge.  We had zone conference, which was an awesome and stressful day, but it was great to be spiritually fed there with many missionaries and our mission president. I woke up first out of my companions and it was at 4:15 in the morning.  Then I drove us all up there, which was a hour and a half drive, to be there at 7 am. Then I went on exchanges with Elder Lish and the next morning we woke up at 5:45am to play tennis with some other missionaries.  Yea, lets just say I was really tired last weekend.

I saw baby goats or “ kids” that were like 1 hour old and saw them trying to survive and how that worked.  I learned how to garden, dig up and collect garlic.  I also learned how to drive in and put up dry wall on the ceiling of a trailer, and more about farming.


So, to the spiritual stuff … Like I said last week I want to write about what we need to do to receive the eternal blessings and happiness that we want.  For this analogy I'm using an "A grade" in the class.

Now, I taught this to a group of missionaries right on the spot.  I didn’t plan it but it just came out this way so I'm going to change a few things up to better apply to you all.

I asked what it would take for a “student” to receive an “A” in the class.  Here is a list of some things they said: Study, do the homework, pay attention, tutors, search text book, talk with the teacher, do the experiments,  review old tests, complete all assignments, etc.
After this list I had them ponder on how, as missionaries, this is the type of people that have a true desire to follow Christ and to join His church.  Well, to apply it to you all, how do WE do these things to get an “A” in the class I like to call "OUR LIFE ON EARTH?"   It is simply by doing all of those steps that I listed before. I'd like to add to those things even deeper and suggest the “spiritual” things we can do for our class of "OUR LIFE ON EARTH."  Here is what we came up with: 

- Do the homework (pray, read scriptures, help our family);  

- Pay Attention (Listen in church, listen to the spirit, watch and pay attention to general conference);  

- See Tutors  (Ask for help from leaders in the church, parents, the Holy Ghost for help and guidance)

- Look for answers in the Text Book (Use the scriptures, LDS.org, Ensign magazines)

- Extra Credit (Tithing and fast offerings, Using the Atonement ... think about that one)

- Doing the Experiments (Trials in mortality, hands-on experiments) 

- Review Old Tests (Lessons from your family history of mistakes your great-great grandparents made that you can learn from, stories in the scriptures)

- Complete All Assignements: (Magnify our church calling, keep covenants, try our best).

After we came up with these and saw how important all of them are then it came to me that if we took ALL of those things and broke it down to ONE statement what would it be what?   THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.  If a teacher ever said in a class, "Hey guys, all that I've taught is great and is super important but if all you know and do is this one simple thing:  Remember these 5 steps and the rest will come later."  How much more would we all pay attention to what he said and actually do it?!

In our spiritual class of "OUR LIFE ON EARTH" our teacher, Jesus Christ told us to just follow His teaching or Gospel (which is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End)  and that if we did that and remembered it and obeyed it the best we could then we would pass the class.  We would get an "A" and everthing else He taught would only be appendages to it.  The Savior didn’t say it exactly that way but He has countlessly mentioned similar to this all throughout holy writ. It is essential that we do all we can to pass the class with an "A" and remember the simple foundation that has been laid out to us.

I hope you all recommit to doing better on something;  either completing your assignments, listening to the tutor better or doing the homework.  Or most important: listening to the teacher and taking sacrifices and steps to accomplish to goal we all have... eternal life.


Yours truly ,
Elder Justin Taylor 







Tuesday, June 10, 2014

What you put in ... you get back

Hello!  Hope you all are having a great day and great start of a new week.

I'm grateful for those of you who are still supporting me while I'm out here and still sending stuff in the mail.  Its much appreciated and sorry if I'm not the best at writing back ... I get busy at times.

So, this past week has been full of ups and downs. Experiences need to be learned and asking to Lord for the purpose of some is important. This whole transfer is about patience for me, and I'm thankful I'm able to work on it.

I was able to have the opportunity to go back to Alamo on exchanges and boy was it so wonderful.  Guys, I can't even put into words how much love and joy I felt seeing some people I haven’t seen in just a short time.  I LOVE THEM so much.  Everyone told me "welcome home" and I called it home too.  I told them I'm just back home for a day then I'm back off to Socorro.  Even people I didn’t truly feel connected with expressed their love to me and how much they missed me and spoke often of me... I was truly humbled. Alamo will forever have a special place in my heart; everyone wants me to live with them after my mission and go back home to the rez! haha

My dear brothers and sisters who are reading this... I want you to know one simple thing that has been so ingrained in my mind lately and that is:  Everything you put in this life , you get back.  So its all up to you how much you put in.

This isn’t a gamble; you don’t go “all” in and have a good chance of losing everything. You go “all” in or you can  give your all to the Lord, put His will over your will, and don’t be selfish. This is truth!  I just heard that anytime there is a temple or church built that once it is  dedicated it then becomes the Lord's... not the president's but the Lord's.  It's His.  So, if we dedicate our lives to Him, to helping others and being Christ-like... then we are His. Therefore we must put our “all” in and He promises it all back and much, much more. I hope you all are putting everything you have into different aspects in your life and remember the more you put in the more you get back.

I have a new urgency in putting more effort and less sleep and less selfish desires because I am the Lord's and I will get as much out of it as I want but it is my will to achieve that level I'm seeking.

Have a great week everyone. Next week I'll have a lot better blog on how hard it is to receive eternal life and the tools we can use to achieve it.

Love ,
Elder Taylor 


Picture of me with Alice when i got to go back to the Alamo :)

Elder Zrimc and I with " matching " nike shirts

Elder Fenner and I with, who i like to call "OLD MCDONALD" or "Brother Paine" haha

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Save

Good morning everyone!  I'm grateful for all of those who are still reading my blog entries.  Truly I'm humbled by how many have viewed them. I will continue to write the things of my soul and experiences or inspiration that has come to me. Honestly this my other journal to look back at and read.

Save… I've pondered on that and it's meaning and I pray you will grasp the way I'm trying to apply this to our mortal life.

Oftentimes, and in the Christian world, many say  “I've been saved for 7 years now,” or “I know I sin but I'm saved because I believe in Jesus,” or “Have you been saved?"
Im sorry for my blunt choice of words but that’s ridicules. Its one of the dumbest statements ive herd. Literally a man told me a few weeks ago that he knows getting drunk everyday is bad and that the Lord isn’t happy about what hes doing it but hes still “ Saved”. Come on people!  The Savior NEVER taught to go around and blurt out to the world that you are saved and it doesn’t matter what you do if you just believe in Him. In James it speaks of “Faith without works is dead”. We need to remain humble by keeping our personal commitments and covenants between us and the Lord; not pridefully blurting to the world that you are “saved”.  I have no intention to offend anyone but I'm just stating my personal opinion on this subject.  Now to the part I wish to speak on.

The Definition of "save" is : To rescue from danger; to preserve or safe guard; to spare.

To me “SAVE” or “SAVED” means a lot more that the typical Christian. My twist on that word goes with the definition and it applies to our life on earth.

We first must be saved in this life.  In this life I need a SAVIOR to “save” me from the danger in this life; to safe guard me and preserve me for the eternal blessing after my mortal death.

Of course our end goal is to be saved (meaning have eternal life) but I feel we must first focus on the beginning of the test... not what happens if I get a good goal. Focus on being saved here. Living in a way through your faith, and works in following Christ by being humble and not flaunting around that you are saved and can do whatever you want because you believe in Him.

That goal of eternal life will be achieved if we look at things here and now.  In Preach my Gospel  there is a quote that says, “Missionaries are to testify of Jesus Christ and invite all to come unto Him that they might be saved."

We must all teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way of wanting to bringing ourselves and others eternal blessings but remembering the here and now as well. That we can help bring them to the Savior to be Saved in this life... to be brought from danger and safe guarded from the evils of this hard world we live in. As we live our lives in such a way and follow the commandments we will be “saved” in this life, and with quiet conformation from the Holy Ghost, a peaceful assurance of being saved in the next life and receiving eternal salvation.

Love always,

Elder Taylor