So I don't have a super big over arching plan for this email (Saying that implies that I have a big super arching plan for all my other emails. That implication is not true. For some reason, I pointed that detail out this time) except for sharing a nice story I heard that has some good principles attached to it.
Happy Easter Yesterday! Also Happy General Conference Weekend! I hope you thoroughly enjoyed both! I hope that general conference was more than just a nice spiritual thought for you and that you have made goals and things you wanted to do because of it. There are definitely some goals and things that I am going to work on because of conference. On Monday at the beginning of the week one of the members in our ward said his Mission President described general conference as a "scheduled answered prayer." I took that to heart and came up with several questions I remembered throughout the conference, and every single one was answered in one form or another. I loved it. I would encourage you to make conference apart of your lives and continue having it change you for the next 6 months until the next one. I am sure you will be able to find at least one thing to work on if you prayerfully approach it.
I also went on exchanges with our district leader. That was on Thursday. I went over to their area. It was a super awesome and great experience! I love Elder Thomas. He is such an inspiration especially since he goes home next week and it doesn't seem the least bit distracted or "trunky." He is truly holding out to the end. In Alma 52:20 it says in reference to the stripling warriors,
"And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted."
When it said "at all times" it meant that. It means at the beginning of your mission, at the end of your mission, before your mission, after your mission. I am grateful for Elder Thomas and teaching me based off of his example of the way he lives and serves.
I heard this story from a nonmember in our area who we gave a blessing to yesterday. He told us a couple, but this is the one I liked the most. It seemed like a pretty nice story, and maybe it will be pretty profound to some of you.
Oh, and this is more of like a folk lore story. It doesn't have all of the exact details, so I added in details where they were absent (or forgotten).
So, I was walking down the street there was a owner of a horse and a donkey and he needed to move somewhere. So he packed up his stuff and put it on the donkey and horse to carry individually. The donkeys load and the horse's load were both 50lbs. The three were off on their journey.
During the journey after sometime the donkey asked the horse if he could help him out with his load. The horse told him "No," saying "it is good that we have an equal load."
So the donkey without complaining or bothering him any more about the matter continued on. 2 hours or so later, the donkey collapsed on the ground and died due to the strain of the load. The owner didn't just want to leave him there because he had been a very faithful animal for the past 5 years. So what he did was take the donkey and the load he was carrying and put it on the horses back. Then the owner, who was 200lbs being tired from the journey and doing all that lifting hopped on the horses back as well. After all of that, the horse continued on to the destination.
So, there is that story. The name I gave it in the subject is not exactly official, but it describes it well enough.
What are some of your thoughts about it? I haven't given it a lot of thought and I haven't picked out many principles from it. What do you think are some of things to learn and gain from it?
I know that you can change. Everyone has the potential to make it to the highest degree of glory in the Celestial Kingdom again. No one person who has been born on this earth has been predetermined to be a Terrestial Kingdom or Telestial Kingdom dweller. Because of Jesus Christ and what He did for us, you can change. I know that any bad habit that I have or any bad habit that you have can be changed. Because of Him and His Atonement, we are not stuck. As Elder Holland described it in his powerful talk, Jesus Christ our Perfect Older Brother, is there for us. He has saved us and will save you again and again no matter how many times you fall. Even if you think you have hit the ground there is no injury that He cant heal, because He has suffered all and knows how to perfectly heal us (See Alma 7:11-13). I say that and leave you with my testimony in His name, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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