June 22, 2015

Hi Family,

Happy Father's Day. I like that the days are getting shorter now. It means that it will get cooler sooner here. We have had a lot of heat and humidity recently. We are starting to get to the point where we have to go home and change our shirts half way through the day because they are drenched in sweat and stuff. Not fun.

Our mission conference was good. Elder Kopischke did a good job instructing. It didn't have a straight direction, because he didn't prepare anything and didn't have an agenda, so we just had a really long open discussion. It was good though.

I guess keeping the ipads had to be cut off somewhere. By the time I figure out how to best use it for missionary work, I will have to give it back though. haha. Oh well.

We had our interviews with President Wakolo on Saturday. He told me I could plan on being transferred this transfer(next week) because I have been here for awhile. So that will be exciting if I do get moved. That's all for this week. kloveyoubye.

Love, Elder Udy

June 15, 2015

Hi Family,

I just finished the Book of Mormon again on Thursday, and right now I am studying the principles of an eye single to the glory of god as described in 2nd Nephi chapter 8 and how understanding and obtaining that erase all care for the things of the world, and all fear of what other people can do and say.

This week went well. We found a new family to teach. We had another mission conference also. Elder Kopischke from the Seventy came and did a mission tour. It was good. We talked about a lot of things.

The iPads are good. They help us to keep in contact with our investigators and less actives. And we can e-mail them there reading commitments and links to talks and stuff. So some missionaries do get to keep their iPads when they go home. I don't because I have so little time left on my mission. My group is the last group that doesn't get to keep them. :-P Everyone after us does. We give ours back. I'm surprised Em didn't get to keep his. That's all for this week. kloveyoubye.

Love,
Elder Udy

June 8, 2015

Hi Family,

I do have an iPad now. They gave them to us this week. We got them on Thursday. We are stilling trying to figure out how best to use them though. It will come with practice I am sure. The only difference that I have noticed is that half of communicating is listening to what they are saying and thinking of how to respond well. 

We had zone meeting this week, so that was good. President was there to pass out iPads and to help us set them up a little.

I got moms letter about self-discipline. I feel like you missed something important when you were talking about self-discipline and self-mastery though. Those are both good and important attributes, but one that almost always goes along with it is something that is expressed perfectly in Mosiah 5:2. "the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." 

A lot of times self-discipline carries the connotation of having to suffer through something that we don't want to do, but have to do because it is right. That connotation is taken away when we realize that self-discipline is one of the stepping stones to the enabling power. "A mighty change in our heart" doesn't just have to be from evil to good. It can be from good to better to best. Through the enabling power of Atonement of Jesus Christ we can change ourselves so that the things in life that we don't always want to do become the things we are the most excited about. Self-discipline is what it takes for us to practice until the enabling power changes us.

For example, at the beginning of my mission I didn't particularly enjoy having to study for 2 hours every morning. Over time I realized I wasn't getting as much out of the scriptures as I could during that time. I decided I needed to change that. At first I tried to just push through it despite my lack of motivation for it. I did keep on studying for the 2 hours, but I still wasn't receiving the knowledge that I felt I could have been.

I asked my mission president what to do to solve that problem and get more out of my studies. He told me to change my attitude so that I didn't have to force myself through studies, but that I would look forward to my time to study. I took his advice and began to pray for the help I needed. It took a couple of weeks, and some stressful moments, and a lot of time on my knees, but eventually I began to enjoy my studies more and more and looked forward to them every morning. Through my efforts and pleading to my Heavenly Father for help, I have changed so that studying the scriptures is now one of my favorite things to do in the day and I get a lot more out of it. Studying didn't change though, I did.

We are meant to have joy in this life like it says in 2nd Nephi 2:25. "men are, that they might have joy." Wading and suffering through those things that I don't want to be doing doesn't sound joyful to me. I know that life won't always be fun, happy, or easy, but we certainly can try to help it to be that way by doing our part. And we can at least change ourselves so that when we do the things that we need to do, we will find the joy in it. Self-discipline alone will never allow us to become happy doing the things we are commanded to do. It takes the power of Christ's Atonement.

When we combine the enabling power with self-mastery and a little bit of self-discipline we obtain the power to overcome any disappointment, pain, or suffering that we face. It also gives us the ability to grow closer to the Savior and it changes us so that the things that we don't want to do, but need to do, can become our favorite things to do. Just like in Ether 12:27. "if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." That is when we have experienced "a mighty change in our heart".

It seems to me that self-discipline leads to self-mastery, and that self-mastery leads to the enabling power of Christ, and through the enabling power of Christ our hearts can be changed to find joy in any and all of the things He asks us to do.

Just some thoughts I had about it. That's all for this week. kloveyoubye.

Love, Elder Udy

June 1, 2015

Hi Family,

It's weird that it is June already. Mission conference was good. Elder W. Craig Zwick from the Seventy was here and so was Elder Hemmingway from the missionary department. I got to talk to Elder Zwick after the meeting briefly though. For some reason I felt that I should ask him if he knew "LeRoy Drechsel". He immediately responded, "Is that your grandpa?" He then told me all about how he looked up to him so much and that he was his Bishop growing up, and what he did and how he was his mentor. (You didn't tell me all of that) So Grandpa was the Bishop of the Seventy assigned to my mission. I thought that was interesting. He knew Mom's name too after I mentioned it. He even let me get a picture with him for "cute little Joanne" He said that you would have known his little brother Jeff better than him though I guess. So that was cool this week.

We had a 5th Sunday lesson. It was about Family History and how to do it and stuff. That's pretty much all for this week though. kloveyoubye.

Love, Elder Udy

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