Wed, 25 Aug 2010
Everyone,
Well this week is a little different, as for us in Newfoundland. We are having a Leadership Conference that is now a part of a world wide thing. It's almost like an extended Zone Conferences and it started yesterday, and it goes from 9:00 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon. It's way long, but it has been jam packed with great things for us here. But that has been our week so far. We still have Angela and Joan on date for the 18TH of next month. They are progressing really well. We found out that they smoke, not much, but they do, so we got them on the stop smoking program. Elder Dopp and I went on exchanges with Bay Roberts this week and in Bay Roberts, if you haven't been there, it's really hard to understand everyone. The newfie accent is really thick, ha, and I was always asking for translations from Elder Walz, who I was on exchanges with. Sorry I don't have much to say, it has been really busy this week.
Love you all,
Elder Rogers
*****************************************************************************
Wed, 18 Aug 2010
Well, tomorrow can be classified as the great and dreadful day. One, because it's my year mark and two, that means I only have a year left .......wow it has gone by so fast. Has it really been that long? It seemed like last week I got off the plane in Halifax. This week since it is my year mark I got thinking about what I have learned/gained from the past year and as I started to think about it, I could name off 10 or 12 different things. It's amazing how much you can learn, change and can do in one little year. Like I always say, the only thing constant is change and I have definitely felt the change for the good. All the while as I was thinking this, I remembered a scripture in D&C 128 vs 22, when the prophet Joseph Smith says, "brethren (and i will add sisters) shall we not go on in so great a cause? go forward and not backward. courage brethren (and sisters) and on, on to victory." That is what we have to be doing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are not going forward we are on a steady downhill slope. So what have you done to come closer to the savior this week. if you have been slipping, repent and do better. Like it states in Jacob 6:5 "His arms are extended towards you." I hope everyone of you are "moving forward and not backwards" for that is how we will have a victory and be able to have exaltation. I love you all. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Jordan N. Rogers
****************************************************************************
Wed, 11 Aug 2010
Hey Mis Amigos,
So this week was a complete 180 degree turn around it seems we had a former investigator call us up and ask if we could come back and teach her, and her name is Angela, and this time even her mom was in the conversation. At the end of the lesson she had told us that she believes the Book of Mormon to be true. I was like, sweeeeeeeeet, but I said it in my head. We set up another appointment and when we went back we committed her to Baptism and she accepted. Now the date isn't until September 18Th but we put it so far away that we could make sure she is ready for it. After that all the bad things of the week just didn't even compare, we were so happy to get her back and to progress her more towards Jesus Christ. Other than that we had a lot of knocking. We are getting really good at knocking, lol, and I think that I will have this city knocked out by the end of this next transfer.
Speaking of transfers, this week is the end of the transfer and I'm staying here in Mount Pearl Newfoundland, lol. Who would of thought - I've only been here for a month and a half so far but my companion, Elder Monsen, is leaving, and my new companion's name is Elder Dopp, one of my former Zone Leaders. I can't wait to learn from him and see what the Lord has in store for us here.
Thanks so much for the love and support,
Elder Jordan N. Rogers
****************************************************************************
Wed, 4 Aug 2010
Well this week went by really fast. First it started off with an exchange with the assistants and that was really cool. I learned new ways to talk to people at the door. After that was Zone Conference, that's why the assistants were up here. We had the mission psychologist at this conference and she taught a lot about people's behavior patterns and how we can use that to our advantage. It was funny to hear and it really works too. Our training went really well too, we talked about the commitment pattern and why it's important to have commitment as well as following up on them. After Zone Conference we went right back to what we do best - that is knock, lol. It seems like that's all we do here sometimes, but I promise you it's a lot better then what it sounds. We meet some crazies sometimes that just make our day. Rowena dropped us. She came to church twice and I guess decided that she had had enough for some reason. I don't know really, why. She just told us that she has too much on her plate, but oh well. We are hoping to find a family now because now since she is gone we have no one to teach. :( But we are putting our faith in the Lord and leaving it up to Him. Every time i do, that something always goes right. Funny how that works out, eh!
Thanks so much for your love and support,
Elder Jordan N. Rogers
"Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work."
“I wish to be up and doing. I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose. I wish to use every waking hour to give encouragement, to bless those whose burdens are heavy, to build faith and strength of testimony.”
—Gordon B. Hinckley, “Testimony,” Ensign, May 1998, 69
“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
“My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
“… He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:2–4).
FEED MY SHEEP
Don't be discouraged in times of difficulty, But hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, let what will, come; don't deny the faith, and all will be well."
----Joseph Smith
----Joseph Smith
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"Oh, Lord, thou shalt save me if thou please; if not, thou shalt lose me; yet Lord will I keep my rudder true"
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Everyone that knows Elder Rogers:
At the end of every post is the word "comments." If you would like to send some words of encouragement and or your love, just click on that word and it will bring up a comment box for you to type in and then just save it and it will be attached at the bottom of his posts for him to read the next time he gets on. He would love to hear from all of you.
Thank you to those of you who have left a comment to let us know how you know Elder Rogers and have become a follower. It will be a memory for him in his mission book that will be made from his blog. We would love to hear from everyone eventually.....Just go to Monday, May 3, 2010 in the archives list and pull up the "Getting To Know You" post and leave a comment. Thanks so much for supporting Elder Rogers.
Thank you to those of you who have left a comment to let us know how you know Elder Rogers and have become a follower. It will be a memory for him in his mission book that will be made from his blog. We would love to hear from everyone eventually.....Just go to Monday, May 3, 2010 in the archives list and pull up the "Getting To Know You" post and leave a comment. Thanks so much for supporting Elder Rogers.
A Title of Liberty
In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children. Alma 46:12
The Book of Mormon as a Personal Guide
The Book of Mormon as a Personal Guide
By President Henry B. Eyring First Counselor in the First Presidency:
All of us feel, in our best moments, a desire to return home to live with God. He gave us the gift of His Beloved Son as our Savior to provide the path and to teach us how to follow it. He gave us prophets to point the way. The Prophet Joseph Smith was inspired to translate the record of prophets that is the Book of Mormon. It is our sure guide on the way home to God.
Joseph Smith said of that precious book, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”1
The precepts of the Book of Mormon are the commandments of God we find in it. Some are direct commands from the Savior through His prophets as to what we are to do and what we are to become. The Book of Mormon gives us the Savior’s example to increase our faith and determination to obey His command to follow Him. The book is filled with the doctrine of Christ to guide us. Here is an example from 2 Nephi:
“[Jesus] said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son” (2 Nephi 31:10–11).
The book makes plain that we must receive the Holy Ghost as a baptism of fire to help us stay on the strait and narrow path. We are taught that we must pray always in the name of Christ, not fainting, and that if we do, we have this promise: “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).
The Book of Mormon makes plain in the marvelous sermon of King Benjamin what it means to have a love of God and of all men. When our natures are changed by the power of the Atonement and through our faithful obedience to the commandments, we will be filled with the love of God (see Mosiah 4:1–12).
The Book of Mormon also gives us confidence that we can become so purified in this life that we have no more desire to do evil (see Mosiah 5:2). This hope gives us courage and comfort as Satan tries to tempt and discourage us on our way.
Each time I read even a few lines in the Book of Mormon, I feel my testimony strengthened that the book is true, that Jesus is the Christ, that we can follow Him home, and that we can take those we love home with us. It has been for me the book of books. It is the word of God.
I pray that we and all those we love will drink deeply and daily from it. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that it is a true guide.
By President Henry B. Eyring First Counselor in the First Presidency:
All of us feel, in our best moments, a desire to return home to live with God. He gave us the gift of His Beloved Son as our Savior to provide the path and to teach us how to follow it. He gave us prophets to point the way. The Prophet Joseph Smith was inspired to translate the record of prophets that is the Book of Mormon. It is our sure guide on the way home to God.
Joseph Smith said of that precious book, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”1
The precepts of the Book of Mormon are the commandments of God we find in it. Some are direct commands from the Savior through His prophets as to what we are to do and what we are to become. The Book of Mormon gives us the Savior’s example to increase our faith and determination to obey His command to follow Him. The book is filled with the doctrine of Christ to guide us. Here is an example from 2 Nephi:
“[Jesus] said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son” (2 Nephi 31:10–11).
The book makes plain that we must receive the Holy Ghost as a baptism of fire to help us stay on the strait and narrow path. We are taught that we must pray always in the name of Christ, not fainting, and that if we do, we have this promise: “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).
The Book of Mormon makes plain in the marvelous sermon of King Benjamin what it means to have a love of God and of all men. When our natures are changed by the power of the Atonement and through our faithful obedience to the commandments, we will be filled with the love of God (see Mosiah 4:1–12).
The Book of Mormon also gives us confidence that we can become so purified in this life that we have no more desire to do evil (see Mosiah 5:2). This hope gives us courage and comfort as Satan tries to tempt and discourage us on our way.
Each time I read even a few lines in the Book of Mormon, I feel my testimony strengthened that the book is true, that Jesus is the Christ, that we can follow Him home, and that we can take those we love home with us. It has been for me the book of books. It is the word of God.
I pray that we and all those we love will drink deeply and daily from it. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that it is a true guide.
Mar. 2007
The Message: Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field
By President Gordon B. Hinckley
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quite a few years ago I was in an airport and happened to meet some returning missionaries. Their families were there. They were picking up their baggage, and I said to one of them, “What’s all this you have?” He said, “These are gifts I am bringing home.” And that has given me the title of what I would like to share: “Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field.”
1. A knowledge of and love for God our Eternal Father and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). There is no greater gift that comes to anyone in this world than a certain, reassuring conviction that God, our Eternal Father, lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that. I think it is so very, very important.
2. A knowledge of and love for the scriptures, the word of the Lord.
As a missionary, I read each evening before going to bed a few chapters of the Book of Mormon, and there came into my heart a conviction which has never left: that this is the word of God, restored to the earth by the power of the Almighty, translated by the gift and power of God to the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. I thank the Lord for the testimony which I have of the truth of the word of God as found in these sacred revealed books. And I would hope that every missionary would leave his or her field of labor with a conviction in his or her heart that these things are true.
3. An increased love for parents.
I have attended hundreds of missionary meetings over the years. I love to hear missionaries speak of their love for the Lord, but I also love to hear them speak with great appreciation and love concerning their parents. Boys who had been careless and indifferent stand on their feet and with tears in their eyes thank the Lord for their fathers and their mothers. In these days, what a salutary and wonderful thing it is to hear a strong young man stand up and speak with great feeling concerning his father and his mother, saying things he would never have said before in all of his life. Every boy and girl ought to come home with an increased love for parents.
4. A love for the people among whom they labor.
I love the English people. No one can sell the English short in my mind because I labored with them, I lived with them, I was in their homes at their firesides, I learned to know their hearts, and I learned to love them.
I have learned to love the people of Asia. I spent 11 years among them, and I love them. To me, I love them as much as I love anybody because of the experience I have had as a missionary, as it were, among them.
There’s something wrong if a missionary doesn’t come back with a great love for the people among whom he labored.
5. An appreciation for hard work.
Every missionary ought to come to realize that work, work, work is the key to getting things done, the key to success in life. There is no substitute for work, for getting up in the morning and getting at it and staying with it to get the job done. I don’t know of a greater asset for whatever lies ahead in life than the capacity to discipline oneself to work.
6. The assurance that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is available to each of us when we live for it.
The availability of inspiration—each of us, if we live for it, if we cultivate it, can have it. I love these great words of revelation, these words of promise: “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost” (D&C 121:26). What a precious gift to bring home—the assurance, the certainty that if we live for it, we have available to us that which comes by the power of the Holy Spirit.
7. An understanding of the importance of teamwork.
No one can do this work alone. We work in pairs. “In the mouth of two or more witnesses shall [all things] be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). We work together. There is no place for prima donnas in the mission field. Our efforts are largely team efforts, and what a marvelous thing it is to learn to work with other people.
8. The value of personal virtue.
I think there is no greater thing concerning future integrity that a missionary can learn than the value of personal virtue. I think there are fewer words greater than the promise given under the inspiration of the Lord as set forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” That’s the commandment. And then the promise: “Thy confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45). That’s the promise to those who walk in virtue.
9. The faith to act.
“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way … that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth” (1 Nephi 3:7).
We ask tremendous things of missionaries. It is so hard for shy and diffident young people to do the things we sometimes ask them to do. But what a marvelous thing that they try. They have the faith to do, the faith to act, the faith to go forward and make the effort. And what a marvelous gift that is to bring home.
10. The humility to pray.
Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response.
These are 10 gifts that I would hope every missionary would bring home with him or her—not a lot of tinsel, not a lot of dolls, not a lot of rugs or furs or dresses or plates, but these great, enduring, wonderful things. God bless you to keep the faith, and while doing so, enjoy with great happiness that which you are called to do.
For more on this subject, read “Ten Things to Know before You Go” by President James E. Faust, New Era, July 2002, p. 4.
[photos] Photographs by Matthew Reier; far right: posed by models
The Message: Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field
By President Gordon B. Hinckley
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quite a few years ago I was in an airport and happened to meet some returning missionaries. Their families were there. They were picking up their baggage, and I said to one of them, “What’s all this you have?” He said, “These are gifts I am bringing home.” And that has given me the title of what I would like to share: “Gifts to Bring Home from the Mission Field.”
1. A knowledge of and love for God our Eternal Father and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
“This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). There is no greater gift that comes to anyone in this world than a certain, reassuring conviction that God, our Eternal Father, lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that. I think it is so very, very important.
2. A knowledge of and love for the scriptures, the word of the Lord.
As a missionary, I read each evening before going to bed a few chapters of the Book of Mormon, and there came into my heart a conviction which has never left: that this is the word of God, restored to the earth by the power of the Almighty, translated by the gift and power of God to the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. I thank the Lord for the testimony which I have of the truth of the word of God as found in these sacred revealed books. And I would hope that every missionary would leave his or her field of labor with a conviction in his or her heart that these things are true.
3. An increased love for parents.
I have attended hundreds of missionary meetings over the years. I love to hear missionaries speak of their love for the Lord, but I also love to hear them speak with great appreciation and love concerning their parents. Boys who had been careless and indifferent stand on their feet and with tears in their eyes thank the Lord for their fathers and their mothers. In these days, what a salutary and wonderful thing it is to hear a strong young man stand up and speak with great feeling concerning his father and his mother, saying things he would never have said before in all of his life. Every boy and girl ought to come home with an increased love for parents.
4. A love for the people among whom they labor.
I love the English people. No one can sell the English short in my mind because I labored with them, I lived with them, I was in their homes at their firesides, I learned to know their hearts, and I learned to love them.
I have learned to love the people of Asia. I spent 11 years among them, and I love them. To me, I love them as much as I love anybody because of the experience I have had as a missionary, as it were, among them.
There’s something wrong if a missionary doesn’t come back with a great love for the people among whom he labored.
5. An appreciation for hard work.
Every missionary ought to come to realize that work, work, work is the key to getting things done, the key to success in life. There is no substitute for work, for getting up in the morning and getting at it and staying with it to get the job done. I don’t know of a greater asset for whatever lies ahead in life than the capacity to discipline oneself to work.
6. The assurance that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is available to each of us when we live for it.
The availability of inspiration—each of us, if we live for it, if we cultivate it, can have it. I love these great words of revelation, these words of promise: “God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost” (D&C 121:26). What a precious gift to bring home—the assurance, the certainty that if we live for it, we have available to us that which comes by the power of the Holy Spirit.
7. An understanding of the importance of teamwork.
No one can do this work alone. We work in pairs. “In the mouth of two or more witnesses shall [all things] be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). We work together. There is no place for prima donnas in the mission field. Our efforts are largely team efforts, and what a marvelous thing it is to learn to work with other people.
8. The value of personal virtue.
I think there is no greater thing concerning future integrity that a missionary can learn than the value of personal virtue. I think there are fewer words greater than the promise given under the inspiration of the Lord as set forth by the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” That’s the commandment. And then the promise: “Thy confidence [shall] wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45). That’s the promise to those who walk in virtue.
9. The faith to act.
“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way … that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth” (1 Nephi 3:7).
We ask tremendous things of missionaries. It is so hard for shy and diffident young people to do the things we sometimes ask them to do. But what a marvelous thing that they try. They have the faith to do, the faith to act, the faith to go forward and make the effort. And what a marvelous gift that is to bring home.
10. The humility to pray.
Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response.
These are 10 gifts that I would hope every missionary would bring home with him or her—not a lot of tinsel, not a lot of dolls, not a lot of rugs or furs or dresses or plates, but these great, enduring, wonderful things. God bless you to keep the faith, and while doing so, enjoy with great happiness that which you are called to do.
For more on this subject, read “Ten Things to Know before You Go” by President James E. Faust, New Era, July 2002, p. 4.
[photos] Photographs by Matthew Reier; far right: posed by models
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