Ok I am so sorry but last week I just forgot to send a weekly so you will get two this week!
So we were running around all last week trying to see as many members as possible, and for some reason I just felt like picking up trash everywhere I went. There are lots of bottles of vodka, trash wrappers, and other grosser things in the streets so I followed the little prick and started picking them up. Now nothing crazy happened. We didn't get some amazing physical miracle dropped in front of us but I did learn a valuable lesson. A lesson of great worth. More than I could imagine for simply picking up trash.
As I was picking up trash I really started to see the effects of people being too lazy to throw things away. I decided then and there that that would never be me. It made me think about some of God's commandments. One I thought of was serving others. When I serve others, a little like like picking up trash, I feel the spirit and I feel good. As I serve, I also start to develop a spirit that would never want to hurt anyone. You could liken that to the same feeling as never wanting to litter. It's like living a lower law elevates us to want to live in a higher and holier way. Doing the smaller thing helps us not only use self control in keeping God's laws but it also changes our literal spirit toward a desire to live a higher law. I believe serving changes who we are. If I struggle with getting mad and saying unkind things I need to serve. If I struggle with being 100% faithful and honest, I need to serve. Through service we can open the door for the Lord to change our hearts. Our desires begin to align with Christ and then we can become His true representatives. Jesus Christ refers to Himself repeatedly as the Father. Since the Trinity became a thing in the 4th century, its polluted His message. What Christ teaches me when He says "I am the Father" is that His very being is aligned with God so there is no distinction. I am striving for that unity of purpose as well. We all are. As I strive to have the same desires as Christ, I can more Boldy represent him.
In Hebrews we learn about the word Boldness. It means authority. With authority I teach and invite. But whose authority? God's. God is the only person in existence with authority, Christ's authority comes from Him and so does mine. But I need to continue to change. Not just change my actions, but my desires. I need Him to help me do that. I need to engross myself in service so God can mold my soul to become more like Him. If I can work to become better at that on my mission I will become more like Him which will be better than anything I could hope for.
Love you all!
Elder Hixon
