Called to Serve!

"Called to serve Him, heav'nly King of glory, Chosen e'er to witness for his name..."

As missionaries we are called to serve. Literally. Along side sharing the message of the restored Gospel, we serve our fellow men. We believe that as we are serving others we are in the service of our God. (Mosiah 2:17 from the Book of Mormon) Service is what the Savior would do. He was the perfect example of helping out other people. As representatives and disciples of Christ we try to follow him in all things, including service. Part of our regular routine as missionaries is to serve others and look for service opportunities. It's been amazing to be able to lift up those who stand in need.

 I think I speak for everyone when I say that service is just awesome! I feel like the Grinch off of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" when his heart swells three sizes. It just makes you feel good helping out others. One time where we were able to serve as missionaries was after Hurricane Sandy hit New York. Thousands of members and missionaries threw on the Mormon Helping Hands yellow vests (you'll know them when you see them... they are quite bright) and went to serve!

These were some of my favorite memories on the mission. There were thousands of people who were left with nothing and being able to even help them out a little was priceless. I know that service draws us closer to our Heavenly Father. If you would like to learn more about why missionaries and the church are so service oriented you can check out the "Meet Missionaries" tab or ask us on the "Discussion" tab!

Kindness Kard Experience

Here is a really cool experience from the Sister missionaries here in Manhattan with the Kindness Kards we made a little while back!

Our train story:

"You are here, You are still alive, The sun shines when we don't. Keep hope alive." On the train ride home from one of our lessons, we found ourselves next to a very sad young woman. I heard her sniffing, and when I looked up she had tears streaming down her face. I instantly thought of the kindness cards and we both dove through our bags looking for one to give her. We found a particularly good one and handed it to her. She looked down for a second, looked up, smiled and then said thank you. It wasn't much at all. We didn't even write the card. But we helped a stranger in the park brighten a stranger on the train's day. And that was definitely a cool experience. Helping strangers help strangers. It's what we do. haha NYC is so full of sad and lonely people and what an incredible opportunity it is to have something even slightly more than just a sympathetic glance to give.

Mosiah 18:9 (Book of Mormon) "Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection that ye may have eternal life" 

To learn more about what we believe (as im sure you are) about service, the Book or Mormon, or anything else we teach as missionaries check out the "Meet Missionaries" or "LDS.org". Have a beautiful day! 

Around the World

As part of "missionary life", we believe in teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people. ALL PEOPLE! Many people as they are asked about what they know about missionaries usually touch on the fact that we go out into the jungles in foreign lands to help and teach people. This is very accurate! Some are called to serve in the jungles of Brazil and other countries. Others to the jungle of Manhattan like us! :) All over the world we are sent to share the message of Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel. Along with that we are to teach the Gospel to these people in their native languages.

"For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language..." D&C 90:11

You don't necessarily need to be called to serve across the world to teach someone in their native language though. For example, I, Elder Potter, was called to teach in Portuguese here in New York City. A little bit strange, I know. But there are people here that need to receive the truth... in Portuguese! As missionaries, we study our languages everyday for about an hour. We also try to take every opportunity to speak in these languages. Some times it's pretty tough. I mean, we are learning completely new languages! The idea and reason of why we go to such lengths to learn these languages and to share the Gospel is because Heavenly Father loves ALL his children. For this reason we teach to all people and all languages. English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, ASL, Italian, Tongan, Korean, Russian, Japanese, German, French, etc. We invite all to come unto Christ and to enjoy the blessings of the Atonement (Christ's sacrifice for our sins). We have noticed that many of the viewers of our blog are not from the United States or places where English is the most common language. We hope the translator feature helps you out in reading our posts. You are all amazing for taking the time to learn more about Christ through this blog!

We invite all who are interested in learning more to check out the "Meet Missionaries!" tab above and amazing missionaries, in your own country and/or language, will come to your home and teach you more! 

Well, the Holidays are here!

The Holidays are here, and that means that everyone is even busier than usual! There is always so much to get ready for, so much to do, and so much to be involved in! But, it is up to us to never lose sight of what matters most. Here is an awesome video that talks about a quiet, humble event that happened in the midst of a bustling place, that went unnoticed by those that were going about their own business. What can we do to be sure that we don't miss the important things happening around us this year?

http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos?v=2893093383001

Something Good to Give!

Here is an experience that was had by some of the Sister Missionaries who serve in our district! This is what they sent to us...

Our train story:

"You are here, You are still alive, The sun shines when we don't. Keep hope alive."

On the train ride home from one of our lessons, we found ourselves next to a very sad young woman. I heard her sniffing, and when I looked up she had tears streaming down her face. I instantly thought of the kindness cards and we both dove through our bags looking for one to give her. We found a particularly good one and handed it to her. She looked down for a second, looked up, smiled and then said thank you. It wasn't much at all. We didn't even write the card. But we helped a stranger in the park brighten a stranger on the train's day. And that was definitely a cool experience. :D

Helping strangers help strangers. It's what we do. NYC is so full of sad and lonely people and what an incredible opportunity it is to have something even slightly more than just a sympathetic glance to give!

"1 New Message"

We know that we have been missionaries for quite some time now, but we both remember the feeling of excitement you get when you receive an unexpected text message. When you feel that vibrate or hear that chime that lets you know that someone actually cares enough about you to send you an electronic letter. We all know the feeling. It's amazing to see the effect a small message of "good news" can have on someone to brighten their day. We as human beings are in constant interaction with one another. Facebooking, Tweeting, texting, Instagramming, Pinning, and we're sure the list probably goes on (forgive us we don't know all the hip trends right now haha) But we are always in a position to make someone's day, or possibly, someone's life. How much of an impact could you make on someone today? As members of the church, in these latter days, we are so blessed to live in a time where sharing the Gospel has been made so easy. With the mere movement of our thumbs on a small glass box we can share an inspiring message with our dearest friends and family. That is what is most important. Sharing a message with those you love in a way that conveys the love their Heavenly Father feels for them. The Gospel changes lives and it can happen in the blink of an eye. So what will the 1 New Message the people in your life see? Watch this video and pray for further inspiration on how you can share the glad message that is spreading throughout this world at a faster pace than ever before! "1 New Message"

Where Did You Come From?

What would it mean to you if you knew that you once lived in the presence of God?

Knowing that God is my Father in Heaven (See Romans 8:16), and that I lived with Him before I came to Earth opens my eyes to help me see what God sees in me. It helps me understand how God knows us all individually, as we all lived with Him for a very long time prior to our existence on earth.

Think of that. God knows you, better than you might know yourself. (See Jeremiah 1:5)

More than that, He loves you, and wants to help you  become the best person you can become. That is precisely why he has given us commandments, to lead us in the right way that will help us be happiest.

Knowledge of the pre-mortal existence has helped me grasp what kind of God our Father in Heaven is. He has a physical body, and when we lived with Him, we only had spiritual bodies. Since He is benevolent and loving, He has provided us with this mortal experience to enable us to ennoble ourselves through the application of the atonement of His son Jesus Christ. He did this so that we could gain a body of our own, and learn to choose good over evil.

Now, it is our opportunity to choose the good and come closer to our Father in Heaven with each choice that we make. As His children, let us do what we can so that we might be children He would be proud of. Then, we may truly be "Joint heirs with Christ," (Romans 8:17) and be able to return to live with God again.

Eternal Families

We believe that a major part of God's plan for our Happiness lies in the eternity of Families.

Since God is our Father in Heaven, we are all brothers and sisters. That is why you will often hear people at our church refer to each other as brother or sister. All of us here on the earth are children in the family of God!

We also have our earthly families, which we believe will not end at death. We may have our families sealed together for time and all eternity! For us, it is not "until death do us part" because we believe marriages last forever! We know that through obedience to God's laws, we can have the blessings that He wants to give us, one of which is eternal family ties.

It has been said that the family that prays together stays together. This is very true. Will you make it a point to pray with your family daily if possible? This will help you and your family feel more of God's spirit in your lives and help you see how families can be forever!

This doctrine of our church has influenced our lives deeply, and we know it can do the same for yours.
Please share a comment on how your family has influenced your life.

A Social Experiment- Experience 1

So, we have had a few interactions with people, giving them the uplifting cards made by the people of New York for our social experiment, but this was the first experience of its kind.

In the subway, as my companion and I were getting on the crowded train, we noticed that the girl in front of us was crying. As everyone pushed to get on the train, we were placed perfectly next to her, and could see her sadness very plainly. We looked to each other, and saw that neither of us could think of anything to say to begin talking to her. Then, remembering of the cards we had, I reached into my bag and grabbed one at random and handed it to her. She took it, surprised at first, and then read it. As she read, she stopped sobbing, and looked up and thanked us. We don't know which card we gave her, but it made her stop and think. The man next to her asked if she was OK, and we learned that she had just received news that her father had just passed away. We then were able to comfort her by sharing with her our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. She had several questions:
Will we remember this life after we die?
Will our families be together after we die?
How can we know?
It felt so good to be able to share with her the things that had comforted me personally when I had lost family members of my own, and the answers we gave her helped calm her, and gave her hope. She thanked us for sharing, and we invited her to pray and ask God for his help as she went on her way.

Thanks again to those who wrote the cards, you comforted someone in need!

Doesn't it feel good to be an instrument in the hands of God? It felt that way for us. Pray for opportunities like this, and they will come (: