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I am a missionary from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from Nevada! I love being a missionary and I love being able to meet people in New York. I am serving in the western New York area for two years.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Keystone of our Religion.

              Some of you who are reading this probably already know what this is going to be about as others probably don't. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ we claim to be the only church with the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a very bold claim and there are many who are opposed to it. How could someone claim to know such things you may wonder. Well, we as members of the church believe that God called a Prophet in the early 1800's named Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to him as well as other Heavenly messengers that restored the priesthood authority to earth that allows men to perform ordinances or ceremonies such as baptism (Hebrews 5:4).
                  But anyone could claim to have a vision or see angels how am I supposed to know that this Joseph Smith saw a vision you may ask. Our Heavenly Father probably knew you we as humans would ask this question, after all we like to see proof before we believe something. In his foreknowledge and wisdom, God brought forth an ancient record through the Prophet Joseph Smith of a people who are the ancestors of the Native American Indians now known as the Book of Mormon. This record was inscribed on golden plates and passed through the hands of inspired men and Prophets for the space of a thousand years. Joseph Smith was led to these plates by the Angel Moroni (the last of the writers in The Book of Mormon). He translated them into English by the power of god and the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of The Gospel of Jesus Christ and testifies of his divinity as a support to the truth of the Holy Bible.
             So what I do as a missionary is I try to talk to the people all around me and tell them about this and invite them to read the Book of Mormon so they can experience more joy and happiness in their lives by growing closer to Jesus Christ. So how can you know? Pray about the Book of Mormon and ask god if it is true. Do you believe God answers prayers? If you answered yes to that question then you should believe that God can answer your prayer to know if The Book of Mormon is true. In finding out that the Book of Mormon is true you will also come to know that Joseph Smith is and was a Prophet, Jesus is The Christ, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom preparatory to the second coming. It is either true or it is false. How can you know? Read and pray about the Book of Mormon.
                    I myself have done this and I can testify that I know that the Book of Mormon is true. This and the blessings that have followed have forever changed and shaped my life. Please read The Book of Mormon and I promise you it will bless your life and fill it with only joy and happiness. Watch aa an Apostle of The Lord expounds.
                                                                                                                      -Elder Teichert

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

We need Humility to realize we can't do this alone.

           I remember an experience when I was about Seventeen years old. I was at a young men's camp out we called Camp Heleman, named after a Prophet in The Book of Mormon. We did many activities at this camp but there is one that stands out to me at this time above the rest. I lived in Nevada and we were out in the mountain deserts of northern Nevada pretty far away from any civilization. One day for the camp activity we went on a hike. In this hike all of us boys lined up and the leaders gave each of us a Potato Sack that we would have to carry as we walked along. They let us go off one at a time, waiting a few minutes for the next person to go.
            My turn to begin finally came. I started walking down the dusty trail with my sack in hand. There was stations set up all along the path and they would put a little bit of dirt in the sack each time and tell you something that you did wrong, like disobey your parents. The sack was getting heavier and I began to hike up a trail towards the top of the mountain nearby. Sure of myself and my own strength I was determined to get to the top alone without anyones help, after all I didn't want to look like a wimp. Suddenly out of nowhere a violent rainstorm broke out and I was soaking wet trying to to climb the mountain to the top through all of the mud. My back was throbbing with pain from the weight of the sack and all of the dirt and mud inside.
               I had one more station before the top and I could see the end was in sight and I had almost accomplished my goal. The man at the station began to dump shovels full of mud into the sack until it was overflowing. Unflinching, yet foolishly not knowing what I was up against I threw the sack over my shoulder and attempted to complete the last few hundred feet to the top. I made it a few steps and then slipped in the mud and the weight of the sack came crashing down onto my body. Hopeless of any possibility to reach the top now and embarrassed I didn't know what to do as I was laying in the mud with the rain pouring around me. My Bishop in the church came over and helped get up out of the mud. He helped me pick up  the sack and then we together carried it to the top of the mountain. As we were walking up the mountain he whispered in my ear something that I will never forget "sometimes we need help from others in this life." We reached the top and when I reached the top their was a large banner of The Savior Jesus Christ with a mound of dirt dumped out at his feet. I made my way over there and also dumped out the sack full of dirt, representing my sins at his feet.
           We wept and bore testimony of The Savior Jesus Christ on top of that mountain. The lesson I learned this day, however; is that we cannot do this alone and we need help from people around us to get back to our Father in Heaven. I have learned this lesson time and time again throughout my life. Let us all try to be humble and willing to accept help from our neighbors and our Savior Jesus Christ. Let us also look for opportunities to be those hands that can help lift others. Watch the video below, that shows a similar experience of having to be humbled.








Saturday, June 18, 2011

The Patience to Endure.

Mosiah 23:21
21Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to achasten his people; yea, he trieth their bpatience and their faith.
          
              We as human beings tend to want everything right now and despite the consequences are usually willing to try and satisfy our desires immediately and if we don't get what we want right away we will throw a fit and give up. In order to be successful in this life and achieve Eternal Life in the world to come, we need to develop the Heavenly attribute of patience. Through life we have many struggles and in order to get through them we must have patience and faith, knowing that as we continue in our journey everything will work out for the best as we do what we need to. We need patience as we develop our talents and try to become better servants of our Heavenly Father. We need patience with ourselves as we try to overcome our weaknesses. We also need to have patience with other people  as we try to become like our Savior Jesus Christ. We also need it as we wait for answers to our prayers from our Father in Heaven, we must remember he answers prayers in his own way and in his own time, that is always best for us. Patience is one thing that is necessary for success.
          We can develop this attribute as we come to understand WHY it is we need to be patient. Knowing that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and our families after this life if we are faithful, helps put everything into perspective. When we understand this and have this goal on the forefront of our minds it will make being patient easy! The video below says it best!