Christmas in the MTC

This week was alright. Time here is weird, it feels like it goes on forever it's only been two weeks but it feels like much longer! We've learned so much though! Since it's Christmas we have a different substitute every day, but the crazy thing is that each substitute brings something new and important to our district. Our mock-investigator was our first teacher, his real name is Brother Fullmer, he's a cool guy. He's been focusing a lot on Spanish and not getting too stressed out about not knowing a lot about the language because he said that was our main problem in our lessons. He left on Saturday and since then we've had Hermano Russel (he was super spiritual and just knew how to get us feeling sincere while we read the scriptures), Hermana Arbon (She was super happy about everything and tried to find out our weaknesses and work on them as companionships), Hermana Valdez (she is our first native spanish speaking teacher and she likes to focus on the language but is also amazing about getting to know your investigator and teaching us to teach people not lessons), Hermano Hardy (Another spiritual powerhouse that likes us to focus on prayer before, and after lessons as well as at all other times necessary). I probably forgot some but those are the ones that stick out in my mind.

Christmas at the MTC was awesome. We woke up just like any other day at 6:30 and all opened our presents. Elder Stephenson was like a little kid, he wouldn't shut up the whole week about wanting to open his presents early and every time we told him to just do it and he'd talk himself out of it. After we opened all our presents (Thanks to everyone who sent me stuff, your the best!) we were bussed up off West Campus onto main campus. The first part of Christmas at the MTC was a missionary talent show. There was all kinds of crazy stuff like a magic show, a violin solo (Sounded like a rap version of Kashmir, It was Awesome!), people that could play the piano upside down, all kinds of crazy acts. Next came lunch. The cafeteria on main campus is massive, there are 2100 other missionaries here at this time so it would have to be I guess. The food was pretty good. Next came the main event, Elder Bednar and his wife came for the Christmas devotional. It was awesome to see him come in, he isn't a very big guy or physically demanding but he brought a presence into the room that was demanding and powerful. The devotional wasn't anything like what I was expecting. Instead of giving us a General Conference kind of talk he talked for two minutes about how we are all agents unto ourselves because The Lord gave us agency and that we need to see our investigators as agents (who can act for themselves), rather than objects (that can only be acted upon). He then passed out 200 cell phones among all of us and told us that the same thing was being done in other MTC's across the world live so that anyone who had a question that they wanted to ask an apostle were welcome to do so. He answered these questions for about an hour, these are some that stick out in my mind.

Why do we as missionaries feel so inadequate? Because you have some realizations as to the magnitude of your calling. You are preparing the world for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don't feel at least a little inadequate with that then there is probably something wrong with you. He said he has never felt he has had the ability to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ on his own strength and knowledge. Inadequacy can be a stepping block if it drives you to seek more earnestly to find the Lord. It becomes a tool of the Adversary when it makes us become overly critical, or discouraged. Discouragement is only a weapon of Satan's.

What is your favorite scripture? He told us he doesn't have favorite scriptures but favorite themes. He shared 3 Nephi 11:14-17 and emphasized the words one-by-one. Christ did not invite one man to feel the wounds and then tell others what he felt but invited all to come and get that witness for themselves one-by-one. "Missionaries don't teach a family of 7, they teach 7 ones in a family." This theme of one-by-one is found throughout the scriptures and is vital to understand as a missionary.

What is the most important trait of a successful missionary? The trait that every successful missionary has is to learn that this mission is not about them. Once you discover that the mission is only for others then you will find your purpose there and will have success. Get out of the way and let the people be your focus. You can only find your life once you lose it.

Why is there still a lasting sense of shame and a memory of sin even after we have sincerely repented? In the scriptures it says that those who repent, the Lord, not us will remember them no more. The memory is a safeguard for us. The only way to remove that scar is to replace those memories of sin and that shame with 1)daily sincere prayer, 2)replacing memories of shame with memories of righteous acts.

Most important doctrine for a missionary? There are 2 aspects of the Atonement every missionary must understand. There are two powers given manifest through the Atonement 1)The Cleansing Power to remove sin. 2) The Strengthening Power to enable the righteous to do righteous act that seem impossible. Missionaries must rely on both of these in order to feel empowered and redeemed through the atonement.

There were tons of other questions he answered but these are the ones that I can remember off the top of my head.

Overall it was a good week. We sometimes get discouraged when we can't seem to learn the language but we always get over it usually through prayer. Sincere prayer really is powerful, and does get me and the other Elders in my district through the rough patches of MTC life. We'll make it!

Elder Roberts.