Elder Carston Mark Calder

  I've been continuing in my study of the Book of Mormon. I got to Mosiah 18 today, which is one of the most well-known and frequently used chapters in the Book of Mormon by missionaries because it talks about the covenant of baptism and why somebody would want to be baptized.  It was neat to read this chapter that I have read many times before under a new lens, trying to relate it to myself. Alma names a number of things that we might want, that we can obtain by being baptized. To enter into the fold of God and become His people, to be redeemed, to arise in the first resurrection, to have eternal life. I want all of those things for myself, and the conditions of the covenant that Alma stipulates are not grievous either. Being willing to look outside yourself and serve God and other people, keep His commandments, and always stand as a witness of Him.  I came to the conclusion that, even if I hadn't been baptized at this point of my life, I would want to be now because tha...

I n personal study yesterday I felt a little more deeply why we would need a Savior. Before one even considers whether Jesus would be that Savior, it's a simple fact that everyone everywhere will eventually die. Nobody has been or (I believe) will ever be able to cure death, so we are helpless to stop it. We need something or someone to Save us from death.  Also, all of us feel miserable and alone at least sometimes. We are taught that God is the ultimate (and only) source of light and joy in the universe (evidenced by how unhappy we feel when we try to find happiness in other things). We cannot feel happy unless we approach His presence. Since we are not now presently in the presence of God-  which we know by the fact that we don't see Him face to face- and have no way of changing that on our own, it would naturally follow that we need something or someone else to fix that for us.  Of course you can just choose to believe that there is no solution to death or unhappiness...

I apologize, very short dry email today, I'm doing well. Lots of turmoil going on in the lives of the people we're teaching so not a ton to report. I'm continuing to like being a bike missionary. We got bike lights finally so thankfully we're not biking in the dark.  This week I did a bunch of the My Plan program which is an online course that prepares you for going home. I thought it was pretty funny how it invites you to reflect on what you want to do after your mission and then every other image is a husband and wife holding hands, a man rocking a baby etc. I wonder what they're encouraging me to do?... I also studied 2 Nephi and read all of the Isaiah chapters in preparation for my Isaiah reading in the Bible. I had a lot of fun joking with my companion about all the strange things we didn't understand in there, especially in the beginning of 2 Nephi 18. Shoutout to Maher-shalal-hash-baz the son of Isaiah! (Very fun to say once you've practiced a bit) Yo...