Monday, December 15, 2014

week 24

So we didn't have many chances to teach many lessons this week, but I really enjoyed this week, because that just meant we had more chances to Share the Gift with many more people. 

As missionaries we absolutely LOVE the "He is the Gift" cards that the Church has made because they are SOOO easy to give to people. What a better time to invite others to come unto Christ than at CHRISTmas!? It's amazing to see people's faces light up whenever we tell them about the video about Christ and Christmas. Hearts are truly softened at this time of year.

Yesterday, Elder Burningham and I both spoke in Sacrament Meeting about Testimony. I found it such a blessing to prepare for this talk because I definitely learned more than I shared. President Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk in the most recent General Conference entitled "Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth." In it he outlined 4 simple steps that we must take in order to receive our own testimony:
1. Read and study the words of the scriptures and prophets.
2. Ponder upon the messages they contain, and also be grateful to the Lord for being merciful enough to impart of His word to us.
3. Pray to Heavenly Father with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ to know if these things are true.
4. Live the teachings and principles!

It was so cool to be able to study each of those steps in depth and find out how vital each of them are in helping us gain and build our own testimony. One thing I also shared was the promise that our testimony grows as we share it! It seems to be the great paradox of the Gospel: the more we give, the more of it we have to give. It's so true! My testimony has grown leaps and bounds since I've been on my mission, which comes from sharing it! Never hesitate to share you testimony with anyone, because you'd be missing an opportunity to strengthen their testimony as well as your own.

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this wonderful time of year. One scripture that we have often shared with others recently is found in Alma 7:7 
"For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all-for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people."

I testify that this is the time of year when we celebrate that which "is of more importance than they all." This is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Christ, the Savior of the World, and the Redeemer of all mankind. I know He lives, and I know that He loves each and every one of us.

I love all of you, and I love this work.

The Church is True!

Love,

Elder Fullmer

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

week 23

This week went by extremely fast! But then again, I think every week is faster than the last.

We were able to pick up a new investigator, named Dan, who is very active in his church, but is willing to meet and discuss things with us. We taught him the Restoration, and when we invited him to read the Book of Mormon at the end, he told us he didn't feel led to read it at this point. But, we know that once he does put it to the test, he will definitely come to know that it is true.

We also taught another new person this week, named Nick. He had a lot of really good questions, and really wants to read the Book of Mormon and learn more about what we teach. The only problem is that he's really busy, so he said it would be best to wait until January to meet again.

We had our Ward Christmas Party this past Friday, and Elder Burningham and I some how ended up in one of the skits! We sang a parody of "The 12 Days of Christmas," replacing all the "gifts" with tools and construction supplies. It was complete with costumes and props, too!

I have been studying Testimony a lot lately, and I was wondering this morning, "What should we strive to have a testimony of?"
I then read Moroni 10:5:
 "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
Just like it says in the scripture, we can have a testimony of "all things" if they are true. 
However, I read another scripture in 2 Nephi 28:30:
 "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have."
Even though we can learn the truth of all things, there is a pattern set forth of what we must learn first. If we are willing to follow that pattern, that is when God will build upon the things we have already learned and show unto us all things that are true. But first, we must be willing to learn the basic principles that God wants us to learn first. I came up with 5 fundamental building blocks that I think we all need to continually strive to strengthen our testimony of:
1. God is our Heavenly Father, and He loves us infinitely and eternally.
2. Jesus Christ is His son, the Savior of the World, and the Redeemer of all mankind.
3. The Book of Mormon is true, and is God's word.
4. Joseph Smith was a prophet called by God, and Thomas S. Monson is his successor today.
5. "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom once again established on the earth."

I know that if we continually strive to strengthen our conviction of these basic truths, nothing will ever shake our testimony.

I love this Gospel, and I love all of you!

The Church is True!

Love,

Elder Fullmer

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

week 22

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you enjoyed the turkey, pie, and time with family and friends.

This week has been a bit slower, mostly because of the holiday, but I had a neat experience that I'd like to share:

Last night I was lying in bed, when a question popped into my head: "Why do we share the Gospel?" Seems like a funny question for a missionary to ask. But I was thinking about this for a long time. I couldn't get to sleep because of it. It just kept coming back. Eventually, I asked myself, "Why does God command us to do anything?" Heavenly Father's sole purpose is to make us happy. Everything He does is geared toward helping us achieve "immortality and eternal life," in essence, eternal happiness. Every single commandment, scripture, and experience that He gives us is for the sole purpose of making us happy. So Why are we commanded to share the Gospel? Because it makes us Happy!

One of the greatest scriptural examples of the joy that's found in missionary work is found in Alma 26:11, when Ammon is rejoicing in the change that has occurred in so many lives: "But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my JOY IS FULL, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God." This "fullness of joy" is mention many other times throughout the scriptures, but as far as I know, it only comes when we see OTHERS increase their faith in Jesus Christ.

In 3 Nephi 17:20, we see this same joy that comes from seeing others increase their faith and come unto Christ. This time, however, it's Christ who experiences this joy: "And they arose from the earth and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my JOY IS FULL."

We as members of the Church have the opportunity to feel that same joy that the Savior felt when he saw the faith of the multitude. There is so much Joy to be found in doing missionary work, but Satan is trying his very hardest to deceive us into thinking that missionary work is hard or awkward or that they won't be interested. But he is lying!! Missionary work is easy! It's natural, and EVERYONE in this world NEEDS the Gospel more than anything else.

Alma, another Book of Mormon missionary, experienced this same joy from sharing the Gospel in Alma 29:13: "yea, and that same God did establish his church among them; yea, and that same God hath called me by a holy calling, to preach the work unto this people, and hath given me much success, in the which my JOY IS FULL." 
This is how I feel about missionary work: it makes me so happy to see others coming to Christ and finding the joy of this Gospel.

But, Alma doesn't stop there. He continues in verses 14-16: "But I do not joy in my own success alone, but my joy is MORE FULL because of the success of my brethren, who have been up to the land of Nephi. Behold, they have labored exceedingly, and have brought forth much fruit; and how great shall be their reward! Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy."

Just like Alma, I rejoice when I hear of your missionary experiences. It makes me even MORE happy to see others sharing this wonderful gift with their friends and neighbors. So I'd like to make a simple request to all who read these letters: Whenever you have a missionary experience, please send me an email and let me know what happened! I would LOVE to hear how the Gospel is blessing your friends and family. The wonderful thing about this Gospel is that it is Happy! And the more we share it, the happier we are! Then, we are even happier when we share those experiences with others! It just keeps going and going! The Gospel is eternal, and so is the happiness we can discover by applying it.

The Church is actually producing a Christmas media initiative called "He is the Gift," which is centered around making Christ the center of Christmas. You all should have received information about it in this month's Ensign. It is such an easy way to share the first gift of Christmas with everyone around you. I would encourage you to watch the video at christmas.mormon.org and share it with your friends.

I love all of you, and I love this work.

The Church is True!!!

Love,
Elder Fullmer

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So we were driving down the road the day after Thanksgiving, and Elder Burningham saw this Christmas Tree with a "Free" sign on it. So, of course, we took it and set it up in our apartment. Tender Mercies! (Those are Pass-along-card ornaments, by the way.)

week 21

So this past week was kind of crazy with transfers and all happening on Wednesday.
On Monday evening, I was happy to participate in a lesson with the other ward's Elders who I was staying with. We taught a lady who never has been very religious, but feels like there's something missing in her life. It was a very powerful lesson, and I think everyone there would agree the Spirit was present.

Wednesday we had transfers, and I got my new companion, Elder Burningham. He is from Layton, Utah, and he is already an amazing missionary. I'm really excited to get to start working with him. He's excited and ready to do whatever it takes to be successful.

On Saturday, we were able to pick up a new investigator named Tra (sounds like "Tray"). He just graduated from High school this past Spring and is now working. It was a really neat lesson. We were able to point out to him that what he was feeling was the Spirit, which really clicked with him.

Last night we had another lesson with the Robinsons. She was baptized a number of years ago, and he has been investigating for about the last 9 months. We talked a little about the Spirit and how it testifies of truth and then invited him to be baptized on December 20th. He accepted! We were really excited to hear from him that he finally thinks he'll be ready by then. 

It's so amazing to be able to see people desire to change their nature to become more like Christ.

One of my favorite scriptures on that topic is in Moroni 7:48: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." 

I hope that each of us would make that a personal goal to strive to become "like him." It is the only way to find true happiness and peace in this life, and we get the opportunity to help others around us as we walk that path.

I love all of you, and I love this work!

The Church is True!

Love,
Elder Fullmer

[A few photos that he sent today:]

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Elder Burningham apparently likes Ramen a lot


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Peter couldn't resist taking some "mug shots" with this license plate they saw at a less-active member's home.