Last night (Sunday) we had the "last supper" with our district. We partied and ate all of the food and candy that everyone's family had sent. We actually still have a ton of food. Hopefully we can find a home for it when we leave in the morning. The reason we had the last supper last night was that most of our district flew out this morning. 12 of the 16 of us left at 3:30 this morning, and that's what I get to do tomorrow morning. It was a pretty sad, but fun filled night last night. Actually the highlight of the day, week, and MTC experience was last night. Though I wish I could say that the highlight of the last 3 weeks was our last supper, it wasn't. Here is what was: Each Sunday, there are about 10 different videos shown around the MTC that are from Apostles and others, and these videos are the last meeting of the day. Last night, the MTC presidency said that the whole MTC would watch the "Character of Christ" video from Elder Bednar again. So the whole MTC watched this video for the second time. As amazing as it was 2 weeks ago, it was even better the second time. There are so many things to learn, and hearing an Apostle teach you is incredible. I'm glad President Martino had everyone watch it again. Well, as soon as the video was over, everyone stood up to stack chairs, head back to the dorms, etc., when all of a sudden everyone stood up, looked forward, and went silent. I didn't know who was there because I was towards the back. But about 10 seconds after the silence, Elder Bednar himself walks up to the podium at the front of the room, accompanied by his wife. I was so pumped. We got to listen to an Apostle speak and converse with us for a little over an hour. We were all dead tired, as Sundays are long days full of meetings, devotionals, and classes. Everyone was ready for bed by the end of the video, but nobody wanted to leave after Elder Bednar showed up. Elder Bednar just turned that 80 or so minutes into a big Q and A session. It was so cool to listen to his testimony and his answers to questions that some missionaries had. Almost everything that was talked about in the session with Elder Bednar was stuff that we had been talking about in class and in our TRCs all week long. It was really awesome. After Elder Bednar gave his final testimony to close the meeting, I just had this thought: I'm almost sure that he and the other Apostles have spoken with God and with Christ. Obviously that is something they would never disclose, as it is too sacred, and I don't know exactly what the Brethren do at their meetings and in the Temple together. I don't think it happens often, but I really feel like the First Presidency and the Twelve have spoken with God and with Christ face to face. He spoke a lot about prayer, the importance of working hard for the right reasons; service; exercising faith; and the gifts that a prophet, seer, and revelator has. One thing that was awesome is that in class on Friday we were kind of throwing out theories that our prophets today have Urim and Thummims. If you read Mosiah 8:12-19 and Mosiah 28:11-20, you just might think what I do about our prophets, who we all sustain as seers, having seer stones and/or Urim and Thummims of their own. It's just a theory, but I think I've convinced myself that they do. Anyway, Elder Bednar, while answering his very first question that he was asked, brought up these verses in Mosiah 8:16 about how being a seer is the greatest gift anyone can ever have except for the literal power of God. It would be so cool to be an Apostle. I learned a lot from Elder Bednar last night, and I'm so glad I had the chance to listen to him live at the MTC.
I mentioned last week that we were struggling with our investigator, Benjamin. As of our last lesson with him on Friday, that is no longer the case. We had a lesson with him on Wednesday about faith. I told you that he doesn't like the concept of faith because he feels like you have to know something to have faith in it, and you have to have faith in something in order to know it. We helped him understand that having faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, but to have a desire and a willingness to work to receive a perfect knowledge of things. I felt like he came to a better understanding of faith and grew in his desire to exercise what faith he has. Our lesson on Friday with him was about prayer. Like Benjamin, we often have had investigators say, "Yeah I prayed, but I didn't really get an answer." We helped him to learn how to pray in a way that will give him the best opportunity to receive answers, and we helped him to be able to better recognize answers when they do come. Our lesson with him was kind of based on a lesson our district had with Brother Abadillo the day before, and on another lesson we had had with a different teacher on the morning before we met with Benjamin. We helped him to understand better Moroni's promise (the formula to praying and receiving answers). In Moroni 10:3-4 it states this "formula". We must 1. "Receive these things" - we need to read the scriptures or learn something from the missionaries. 2. Ponder them. 3. Ask God in the name of Christ, with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ. We helped explain what each of these things meant. We also turned to the Bible Dictionary entry on prayer. That entry explains what it means to pray "in the name of Christ." Let me tell you, it's so much more that just ending our prayers with those words before we say amen. I encourage all of you to read Moroni's promise again, and also to read the Bible Dictionary entry on prayer. Look especially at the last two paragraphs of that entry. If you follow its counsel, I promise that it will change the way you pray and it will make your prayers much more meaningful. Bro. Abadillo said to us, "I never close my prayers until I feel like I am in the presence of God." That's not an easy thing to do, but I know as we pray "in the name of Christ" that we will be able to feel that same way. One thing that it says in the Bible Dictionary is this: "prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child (us) are brought into correspondence with each other." That is the purest definition of prayer, and may we all begin to think of prayer that way. I know my prayers have have changed since I've been at the MTC, and they changed again after the lesson of prayer from Bro. Abadillo, and after our lesson on prayer with Benjamin. I hope you all will take the time to read the Bible Dictionary entry on prayer and to give what it says in the last 2 paragraphs some thought. I know it will help you as you pray.
I told you that I was very worried about teaching Benjamin again after the first lesson, but I'm honestly going to miss meeting with him. He is a super nice guy, and though progress was slow, I was excited to see his faith and desires grow. I know that God answers prayers, and I prayed a lot that God would fill my mouth with what to say to him to help him learn and come closer to Christ. I prayed for that and then studied to find things to help him, and it all worked out great. I'm thankful that God answers prayers.
This week we also had a district testimony meeting, just on our own. We started it last week, but after an hour it was time to go to dinner and we had only heard from 5-6 people. We finally finished our testimony meeting Saturday. I thought I knew my district, but wow they have some crazy lives. So many of them come from divorced families, broken homes, and hardships left and right. My life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows, but I'm so glad I had the upbringing I did, I have the family support I have, and I have the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who are so supportive and so loving. I love all of you and I pray for you daily. Grandpa, I hope you and your doctors can get you feeling better. It makes me sad when I hear that you aren't feeling well. I want you all to be healthy and happy all the time. To my aunt Camille, I never met your dad, but I was heartbroken when I heard what had happened. You and your family are always in my prayers. I love you, Heavenly Father loves you, and I'm so grateful for the knowledge we have of His Plan. As sad as this is, I know in my heart that you can be together again someday, and experience pure joy together with your family and together with God. I also need to thank you, Brad, and your boys for the package. It means a lot that I have such a loving and supportive family, and I hope that I can continue to be an example to you as you are to me.
I'm excited to go out to Bama and serve the people there. I don't know exactly how these next couple of days are going to go down, but I pray that I will be able to have a good trainer, that I will settle in quickly, and get to work. I like to believe that there is one person down in the south who is ready and waiting for ME to come talk to them and share the Gospel with them. I often pray that I will be able to see people as God sees them, and that I will be able to treat everyone I meet as that one person that is ready to receive the Gospel and that Heavenly Father has placed in my path. I love all of you and keep you in my prayers daily. Thanks for your love, prayers, and support. Talk to you you next week. I don't know when my p-day is in the field, but I guess you'll find out when I email. Love you!
Love,
Elder Beach
Our District with our teacher, Sister Erickson.
Me and Woody, my high school buddy from home. I didn't realize I still had my tie tucked in from dinner!
Our Zone (two districts) with our teacher, Brother Abadillo.
Me and Brother Abadillo.
Our District at the temple.
The Alabama Missionaries!
Our District's final night together at the MTC.
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