Letter 5 (week 5)

So 5 weeks in and 1 left before God holds me under the water until I grow gills and fins. It’s a little nerve racking, but at the same time I’m so excited. Every time I feel the stress come on and I feel like the weight of the work here is too much, I just think back to the Savior and His Atonement. I try to imagine how much pain he went through, and just the thought of getting a crown of thorns pushed onto my head makes me sick. Then I think back to my work and I’m like pshhh... this is facil (easy) ... 

I’ve really grown so much here and I realize how important the Missionary Training Center is in our development as missionaries. My testimony of the gospel in its whole has grown more than I can express. One thing that I have prayed a lot for is faith. The importance of faith has been apparent to me, but gaining the faith is the tricky part. I have been praying every day and night for my faith to grow so that I could get to the point were I knew for absolute sure everything was true and I wouldn't ever have a doubt. But, the answer I received really put faith in perspective for me. 

I was reading in the Book of Mormon from Alma 32, this is where Alma and the sons of Mosiah are trying to preach to the Zoramites and bring them to righteousness. There were many of the people that said they would only believe if they could see a sign, one little sign and they would believe. Alma rebukes them and explains how this is not faith. He explains how important faith is and how without faith there is no cause to believe, and when you know with a surety you are surely more cursed in this life. None of us are perfect and with a perfect knowledge the Lord would expect more of a perfection. The judgments would be so harsh on us if we knew for sure.

Alma 32:21 “Faith is not a perfect knowledge of all things, therefore if you have faith you hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.”

Now concerning faith, if we do not give action our faith is dead! We must take the word and place it in our heart as an act of faith and continue to give action. And if that seed is good then we will feel it grow within us and it will be good and our hearts will feel swollen and we will feel enlightened. But if we neglect our seed then the strength of our seed will be nothing. We won’t have roots to hold us when the storms come, and the storms will come!!!

If we press forward CONTINUALLY with faith and endure to the end we will taste of a fruit that is most desirable.  Now about faith if we don’t act with diligence and humility, our pride could kill us.

I love you guys, but I’m out of time. I just feel like this is really important.

Love,

Elder Dabel