Week 9 And We Did Prosper in the Land

October 8, 2018

Events of week 9

God's hand was evident in showing forth His power, in His willingness to bless those who press forward, with an utmost confidence that they will succeed by placing our trust solely in Him.

Monday, We had lunch with the Palmerston Elders, as well as the Palmerston South Elders, and Elder Hirro made a Filipino dish called Adobo, which is basically chicken and a bunch of spices and soy sauce. We also taught a lesson to one of our friends, and read the book of Mormon with him, and stressed the importance of building a relationship with God through prayer and reading the Book of Mormon.

Tuesday we were knocking a street, and we knocked on this big gate, and nobody answered. We continued along the street till the end, and as we were walking back to the bikes, we noticed that this gate was now open. We went up to the house, and the guy let us in immediately, and it turns out that he had been taught by many missionaries in the past, and we were able to teach him about the Word of Wisdom, and how God will not give a commandment, unless He makes it possible to keep it, he is having trouble with coffee, but does desire to stop and join the church. That was a miracle, and that makes three people in our teaching pool.

Wednesday, Elder Nayusan and I gave a training on how to follow up effectively with those we had found previously, it was supposed to be 15 minutes, and it turned into 45 minutes, oops. We also found two new friends who are extremely interested in coming closer to God but are unsure how. We taught them the nature of God, and how He deeply loves all of us and wants to build a relationship with us. That makes 5 in our teaching pool.

Wednesday evening, I went on trade-offs with Elder Ross, who is one of the Zone Leaders here in Darwin, I went to his area in Nightcliff, and we went to the Nightcliff Jetty, which was my first view of the Darwin Ocean, and it was beautiful. Apparently when you go there, the only thing that you talk to people about is fishing, or nature. Elder Ross is from Syracuse, Utah, and has had quite a mission experience, he is extremely dedicated to the Savior, and I learned so much from him, and it helped me to see that two (or more) are both in tune with the Spirit, it doesn't matter who you are, you will be in tune with one another, because God will align you. That is why the church is so unified, because we are all different people, and we are all unified through God.

Thursday, Elder Ross and I spent the day in Nightcliff, and then returned to Gunn, where Elder Nayusan and I followed up with another one of our friends, and taught him what we call lesson zero. It is simple. the Nature of God, we are His Children, and He wants to build a relationship with us, and He sent His Son to show us how to build that relationship, and then we teach of Baptism. He does want to be baptized, but is actually moving to Brisbane on Tuesday, so we will refer him to them. That makes six in the teaching pool.

Friday we had a member feed us, and actually we get fed a lot here in Darwin (Palmerston Branch and it is pretty great)

We had transfer calls on Sunday, and Elder Nayusan will be finishing my training here in Gunn still, so that is a blessing from above, because we now have a lot going for us here, and I know that it will continue to grow as we strive to show God why we are truly here, and that we are willing to work.

We did Prosper in the Land...

(2 Nephi 5:10-11,13)

This is actually a concept that Elder Miner (serving in the Phillippines) opened me up to. I could simply say that if we keep the commandments, then God will prosper us in the land. But there is more to it. I know how I applied it, but how can all of you apply that in your own lives? In my sense, if I am obedient, and am steadfast, God will allow me to find joy in the work, and find people who's lives I can touch. Hence the 4 new people in our teaching pool this week. But it takes time. Elder Nayusan and I had almost 3 weeks without teaching a lesson, and finally, by truly dedicating ourselves to God's work, which is bringing His Children unto Christ, we were able to actually see the results.

What is something that you feel that you could "prosper" in? It could be work, school, family, relationships, or in a gospel sense, a certain aspect of the gospel. Being in tune with the spirit, repentance, Christlike Attributes. It could be almost anything. All you need to do is to be obedient, and be willing to do whatsoever the Lord would have you to do.

There are two questions that could help us to apply this concept.

-1. What should I do?

-2. and why should I do it?

The answer to the first one is simple. I cannot answer that for you. The only person who can answer that is the person who has all of the answers in the universe. God Himself. He will answer that question through the Holy Ghost. That is the most important thing when trying to prosper. Be in tune with the Holy Ghost, and He will show you all things that you should do.

The second question's answer is simply another question. Why did the Savior do anything? He did it because it was the Father's will. He did it out of a love of the Father, and a love of us. Charity.

If you can truly do all that you do out of a love of God, and with the intent to glorify your Father in Heaven, I can promise you that you will know exactly what to do. And you will prosper in whatever "land" God has given you. Your Savior loves you, and He always will. Never doubt that, and have a confidence, an assurance, that He will deliver on all of the promises that He has made with you, and that He will make with you. Your Savior loves you. If you don't know that, then learn it. If you know that, then try to understand that. If you think you understand that, stop fooling yourself. Because you don't understand how much He loves you, or who He truly is. None of us do. But we can always strive to learn more of Him, and come closer to knowing Him. By doing so, all else will fall into place, and we never need to fear.

Firm in the Faith.

-Elder Cozzens