Provo MTC: Week 5

This Sunday, we had a super good devotional, and we talked a lot about desire. The question they posed to us was, "What desirest thou?" And it made me think about what I ultimately want for my life and eternal destiny. 

If your answer isn't what you want it to be and don't align with the necessary steps to gain exaltation, then he invited us to deepen our relationship. As we become closer to Christ and build our own strong testimonies and faith on Him, our desires will change. We will have no more desire to do evil but to do good continually.

Neil A Maxwell said "Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence righteous desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings."

We should want with all our might to be like Jesus Christ and gain exaltation. Something I liked in the devotional is when he said "live life intentionally". We need to make conscious decisions every day to take the necessary steps to reach our goals. God will grant us our desires whether good or bad, and we reap the consequences. 

As I've been on a mission and deepened my relationship with God and gained my own testimony, my desires have evolved, and I've seen change in my actions as I strive to reach my goal. 

I invite you guys to read or listen to his 15 minute talk its really good and made me think a lot.

“According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1996/10/according-to-the-desire-of-our-hearts?lang=eng

I hope that by choosing to serve a mission I am setting a good example. I've seen a lot of change and I've been able to come to my own knowledge of the truthfulness and greatness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You don't have to wait for a mission, start now by studying the Book of Mormon, making your prayers meaningful, and having a desire to be a righteous follower of Christ. Don't just go through the motions, be intentional in your personal conversion. I've seen that as I've done these things, I've gained a stronger testimony of Christ and this gospel and you can too.

Sorry for the essay, I just found it super interesting and wanted to share it with you guys!

I love you all and miss you a lot!

Elder Tyson Smith

Provo MTC: Week 4

 Kumusta po sila!!

This week has been a lot of the same but we've had some interesting things happen.

Word of the week: pagbabayad-sala (atonement)

It's cool because "pagbabayad" means payment and "sala" means sin.

ESPN Top 10 Highlights of the week:

10. We said goodbye to Elder Parker Woodward as he left for Japan. He's gonna do great and he was super excited and ready to get out there.

9. 3 new guys moved into our dorm room and so it's been pretty packed. They're super funny and really cool guys though.

8. On Sunday we had a band come and play to us at a devotional. The songs were pretty good, but it was just a good break from the usual and fun.

7. We had maybe the best meal here, chicken tenders and fries. They were super good, it sounds basic but compared to the usual this was a step above. 

6. An area 70 came and spoke to us this week at a devotional. He was pretty funny and gave a really good talk about the power of prayer and reading the scriptures.

5. The trees on the mountain are changing color and its a high of 62 tomorrow, so I'll be wearing my one sweater a lot.

4. Our dorm building had a giant tie trade off on the top floor where probably 40 Elders came and traded ties, I got a pretty cool new one.

 

3. We defeated our rival Tagalog district in sand volleyball this week 21-8. They were talking a lot of crap so it was nice to finally destroy them. We'll probably come for team USA next.

2. In choir we sang "We'll bring the World His Truth" It was such a good song and super powerful singing with all the missionaries.

1. We gave our first lesson in Tagalog. It was just a practice with our teacher but it went pretty well. We surprised ourselves with how much we knew. Tagalog has been coming along pretty well actually and it's so cool to see how far we've come.

Spiritual thought:

I recently listened to President Thomas S. Monson's final conference address before he passed titled "The Power of The Book of Mormon". One thing I liked in the talk that really stood out to me is when he said:

"It is essential for you to have your own testimony in these difficult times, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far."

It's so important to have your own testimony of the gospel. That's been one of the huge blessing of being on a mission, my testimony has grown a ton. It'd be really hard to go through your whole life feeding off the testimonies of others, so I encourage you all to gain a personal witness of the truthfulness of the gospel. And one of the most important and best ways to do that is through the Book of Mormon. It's soo important that the Prophet based his whole final talk around it. It's a book full of the the gospel of Christ and of teachings we can apply in our own lives. 

Ingat!

Elder Tyson Smith

Pictures: 

1. Matching fits for volleyball night (not planned)

2. District Study in the grass

3. The music devotional

4. Me and the trio in class

Provo MTC: Week 3

We got put into a trio, Elder Anderson is joining us for the next 2 weeks as he recovers from his cyst removal surgery. We had to pack all our stuff and move rooms which was kinda annoying. Being in a trio is so hard honestly. I keep losing one or the other and trying to accommodate everyone is SO hard. But we got through the week.

Word of the Week: Nagluto ako (I'm cooked)

ESPN TOP 10 highlights of the week:

10. Someone got sick in the shower this week. Safe to say I can never shower in that bathroom ever again.

9. Someone in our district got half their clothes taken from the laundry room, knocked on every door but hasn't been able to track them down.

8. The chocolate milk is deceiving. Each bottle is 2 servings, 250 calories a serving. I had 3 bottles in one day.

7. It was President Nelson's 100th birthday, that's so crazy that he's been able to live this long and still be functioning and seeming to do well.

6. Tuesday we went to the temple and did endowments, I was fighting for my life to stay awake. I felt pretty bad about it but I was so tired.

5. We did practice teaching and taught about who God is, the atonement, and prayer. It was our best lesson yet and we were pretty proud of how it went. 

4. We bore testimonies in tagalog and are supposed to give our first lesson fully in tagalog by this next week.

3. Elder Gong spoke to us on Tuesday about drawing closer to Jesus Christ and how companionships can be super powerful. Luckily me and my kasama (companion) are tight so we've got that down.

2. We woke up at 4 AM to go to Elder Anderson's surgery and it went well but, my sleep schedule was destroyed. I did get to study a ton at the hospital though.

1. I was able to give my very first priesthood blessing to an Elder in my district. It was a super cool experience and I felt pretty in tune with the spirit.

Spiritual Thought:

2 Nephi 26:27

"Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance."

Salvation is free to all. Jesus wants everyone to come unto him and repent of their sins, because this is the reason He performed the atonement. It costs nothing but sincerity of heart and real intent, and the Lord has his arm stretched forth to any and all. He will turn none away and His atonement is infinite and covers all. I'm so grateful to be able to repent of my sins and be forgiven through Jesus Christ! Without Christ's atonement nothing would matter and we'd be forced to pay the price of our sins, but since God is so merciful and wants us all to return to Him, he provided the one and only way back.    

Photos of the Week:

Timpanogos Temple

Me and Elder Summers casually standing with the sunset in the background

 Me, Elder Cockrell, and Elder Anderson in the hospital for Anderson's surgery

Me walking off into the sunset after going 6-0 in sand volleyball

Class time photo (we're locked in)

Me and my trio

The khaki pant boys

Provo MTC: Week 2

 Rations are scarce. Brain fluid is low. Tagalog is hard. (Just joshing!)

Word of the Week: unggoy (monkey)

ESPN TOP 10 highlights of the week:

1. Me and my companion got shots this week, for Japanese encephalitis. They've got some scary diseases in the Philippines.
2. We got 4 new roommates who are all going to South Africa but speaking English so they'll only be here 2 weeks, they're alright.
3. Waited legit an hour in line for the most mid meal ever after Fast Sunday, it was the sketchiest looking slice of ham and rice.
4. The General Primary First Counselor came and spoke at a devotional, it was pretty interesting.
5. One elder dropped a pen down 6 flights of stairs and it exploded, not sure what prompted him to do that. His companion wasn't happy after he had to clean it up with him.
6. Elder Thomas Bybee showed up to the MTC this week so we got to see him.
7. We played Spikeball and sand volleyball a ton and did amazing.
8. We learned how to pray in Tagalog and I said my first full prayer in Tagalog, it feels so cool being able to do that.
9. Elder Cockrell (my comp) and I have been playing "speed", a card game, and I'm beating him 37 to 35
10. Sunday we had 4 hours of personal study and I got to study the BoM a ton. It's a real page turner.

Spiritual Thought:

2 Nephi 32:9

"But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

Prayer is a huge blessing that we have. We're able to speak to the God of the universe. And He wants to speak to us and help us with all that we do. We might think it's silly to ask for His help on some things but truly He cares what we care about and wants to be in the details of our lives. His arm is stretched forth to help us, we just have to ask for it. This week we had our first HOA, which is a practice teaching on an adult teacher who we've never met. Beforehand we said a prayer that things might go well, and amazingly it was our best lesson yet. We were able to learn a ton from that experience and I credit the success to praying beforehand to have the Lord on our side and the spirit with us.

Photos of the Week:

(MTC Tagalog Speakers at Volleyball)

(Elders Cockrell & Smith w/ Vaccination Shots)

(Provo MTC Rainbow)

(Provo MTC Classroom Views)

(MTC District on P-Day)

(Super nonchalant photo of Elder Smith)

(Elder Smith Studying the Book of Mormon)