Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse?
A. They are afigurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing bheaven, the cparadise of God, the dhappiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the espirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the fbeast, and every other creature which God has created.
3 Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or aorders?
A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined border or csphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their deternal efelicity.
So, I read that and remembered how marvelous the Lord's plan truly is. Christ truly created all things spiritually before he created them physically. That includes you, me, the trees and Molly. I read this and I believe that this means that if she existed before, she'll exist after as well in "[her] enjoyment of [her] eternal felicity." That brought me much comfort and I hope it helps you guys if you're struggling with her loss.
Okay, so let's move on to happier topics. So, the stupid postage strike is over and my package finally came in. I promptly gave my comp the BYU T-Shirt (he's really grateful for it) and gave the CTR Rings to several of the Brazilians (its hard to get those down here). They all really appreciated the gifts and said thank you. There was just one problem: the deodorant you guys sent me? Didn't get here. The police went in and robbed it. (I don't know HOW the iPod got here safely- I truly count that as a miracle) . So just a lovely reminder not to send anything too valuable to me down here- you really can't trust the police. But thanks a ton for the love and support and packages that I always get. (Hint hint... birthday in three weeks... hint hint... Christmas in nine weeks... hint hint...)
So this week was a good week in our work- I had a huge realization actually. There are some times when we get so caught up in all the little things that we completely forget about the big picture. We get so stuck in the nitty-gritty that we forget about the things that really matter... get so preoccupied with numbers that they forget that there are PEOPLE behind the numbers- and we're here to help them, not just see who can post up the highest score like we're in a huge video game. Its actually something I've been fighting since I've gotten here, but I found myself falling into the same trap- doing things only to get a number- not for the benefit of our investigators, and certainly not because we love them and desire their salvation. So, as I started to fall into this trap I found myself getting more and more depressed and frustrated and miserable. I lost the Spirit because I wasn't working the way the Lord wants us to work. So I had this huge realization this week that I was falling into this trap and we (Elder Gomes and I) made some drastic changes to the way we do our work. We've completely changed the way we do everything- the way we work, the way we study, the way we act with the members, everything. It all has one huge focus- helping the investigators. Everything we do isn't for us and it certainly isn't for the numbers- its to help these children of God receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ by helping them have more faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, be baptized by the priesthood authority of God, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by the same means, and stay strong and firm the the Gospel until the end. I'm sure some of you (especially the returned missionaries) are looking at me and thinking, "well no durh!!!" but you'd be surprised how many missionaries haven't realized this yet. After we realized this and changed the way we work, things have changed 100%. We have the Spirit so much more while we are working, we're honestly trying to help these people. They're progressing better, they're feeling the spirit more, and I'm positive the Lord is more satisfied with our service. Its remarkable the difference that happens when we stop and look at the things that matter most.
Well, I sure do love you all. I want you to know that the Gospel IS true, Jesus truly is the Christ, he truly is our savior and redeemer. (By the way I finished reading Jesus, the Christ in Portuguese this week). This work is a work to do nothing more or less than help our brothers and sisters receive the same blessings we're receiving daily. I'm kind shocked to realize that in a couple weeks I'm going to hit 1 year and 6 months- man time flies. I'm going to do all I can in the little time I have left to bring as many of our brothers to Christ as I can, and I have a testimony that the Lord sure does bless us when we trust him.
Love you all!!!!
Go help the missionaries!!!!!
-Elder Marx
So, I read that and remembered how marvelous the Lord's plan truly is. Christ truly created all things spiritually before he created them physically. That includes you, me, the trees and Molly. I read this and I believe that this means that if she existed before, she'll exist after as well in "[her] enjoyment of [her] eternal felicity." That brought me much comfort and I hope it helps you guys if you're struggling with her loss.
Okay, so let's move on to happier topics. So, the stupid postage strike is over and my package finally came in. I promptly gave my comp the BYU T-Shirt (he's really grateful for it) and gave the CTR Rings to several of the Brazilians (its hard to get those down here). They all really appreciated the gifts and said thank you. There was just one problem: the deodorant you guys sent me? Didn't get here. The police went in and robbed it. (I don't know HOW the iPod got here safely- I truly count that as a miracle) . So just a lovely reminder not to send anything too valuable to me down here- you really can't trust the police. But thanks a ton for the love and support and packages that I always get. (Hint hint... birthday in three weeks... hint hint... Christmas in nine weeks... hint hint...)
So this week was a good week in our work- I had a huge realization actually. There are some times when we get so caught up in all the little things that we completely forget about the big picture. We get so stuck in the nitty-gritty that we forget about the things that really matter... get so preoccupied with numbers that they forget that there are PEOPLE behind the numbers- and we're here to help them, not just see who can post up the highest score like we're in a huge video game. Its actually something I've been fighting since I've gotten here, but I found myself falling into the same trap- doing things only to get a number- not for the benefit of our investigators, and certainly not because we love them and desire their salvation. So, as I started to fall into this trap I found myself getting more and more depressed and frustrated and miserable. I lost the Spirit because I wasn't working the way the Lord wants us to work. So I had this huge realization this week that I was falling into this trap and we (Elder Gomes and I) made some drastic changes to the way we do our work. We've completely changed the way we do everything- the way we work, the way we study, the way we act with the members, everything. It all has one huge focus- helping the investigators. Everything we do isn't for us and it certainly isn't for the numbers- its to help these children of God receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ by helping them have more faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, be baptized by the priesthood authority of God, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit by the same means, and stay strong and firm the the Gospel until the end. I'm sure some of you (especially the returned missionaries) are looking at me and thinking, "well no durh!!!" but you'd be surprised how many missionaries haven't realized this yet. After we realized this and changed the way we work, things have changed 100%. We have the Spirit so much more while we are working, we're honestly trying to help these people. They're progressing better, they're feeling the spirit more, and I'm positive the Lord is more satisfied with our service. Its remarkable the difference that happens when we stop and look at the things that matter most.
Well, I sure do love you all. I want you to know that the Gospel IS true, Jesus truly is the Christ, he truly is our savior and redeemer. (By the way I finished reading Jesus, the Christ in Portuguese this week). This work is a work to do nothing more or less than help our brothers and sisters receive the same blessings we're receiving daily. I'm kind shocked to realize that in a couple weeks I'm going to hit 1 year and 6 months- man time flies. I'm going to do all I can in the little time I have left to bring as many of our brothers to Christ as I can, and I have a testimony that the Lord sure does bless us when we trust him.
Love you all!!!!
Go help the missionaries!!!!!
-Elder Marx
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