Enthusiasm is Everything

June 29, 2015

Hey Everyone,

We have had another good week here in Miramar. I seriously love this area. Some of the members here are just amazing. I would be content with another whole transfer here, but I don't think I'll get to do that. I'm going to enjoy these next three weeks.

This week I got to do divisions with one of the Elders in our district. He's 23, and his view on the Gospel is very practical. It was fun to get to spend some time with him and learn from him. I really enjoy doing divisions with other missionaries. You can learn so much from other people. It is not important whether they work hard, are obedient, or speak Spanish. Everyone has something to teach you, and I would imagine that the real world is exactly the same.

On Thursday we had a Multi-Zone Conference and President Klein talked about the relationship between Faith, Repentance, and Charity. He also mentioned that people do things for one of three reasons: Fear, Duty, and Love. He talked about his own mission and that when he left to serve in Argentina, he left to complete his duty, but that as he dove into the work, he began to be there because he loved it. He used this to show that when we have faith, we do things because we are afraid of what God will say in the last day if we don't do them. When we repent, we now do things because we want to be better, but maybe we haven't given everything over to God yet. Having a desire to sin, but not doing it is in the DUTY category. We are obedient because we have repented and now have a duty to not sin. However, if we repent and actually forsake the sin, and lose the desire to sin, we have moved from repentance and duty to charity and love.

Charity is a gift from God, and with it comes things like Enthusiasm, the Spirit, and Success. He said that just as much as Charity is a gift from God, "animo" (or in English, enthusiasm) comes from God. That was extremely helpful for me because the last few weeks have been especially difficult with the loss of Ciara, a tough companion, and staying in the same area for a prolonged period of time. I am really so grateful that I have been able to keep my head up in the times of trial with the help of the Savior. I often read Alma 26:27 and Alma 7:11 when times get tough, and I am able to always work with "animo" and love for these people I am with.

I hope you all have a great week.

Elder Aldrich