What’s up cuates!!
How’s everyone doing!! Sorry for all the rain but I hope it’s been a great week! I miss you all and I hope you know I’m still praying for you!
We had a great week this past week, although not as great as it would have been if we had helped someone get baptized. Daggumit, Satan is working hard! Please keep Alondra, Ashby, Pedro, and Ian in your prayers! I’m not sure when they will get baptized but we sure are trying to help them!
Anyways, let’s get going, I’m super low on time so I’ll be quick!:
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– I made the mistake a couple weeks back of buying Honey Cheerios from Costco, which I thought was a mediocre Spanish translation for Honey Nut Cheerios, the best cereal of all time. Honey cheerios are not. I bought the Costco deal of 1.25 kilos for 6 bucks of this crud and I can’t get anyone to eat it for me. Not worth the 6 bucks but I’m hungry enough I eat it. If anyone gives me the excuse to send it off in a package, I’d be happy to mail it to you so you can have a personal experience with mediocrity!! Let me know!
– A ward member told us we were going to be eating at the chapel for lunch, where we showed up and it was a full on birthday party for his daughter! Which means we got unlimited tacos from this one awesome guy in the Stake named Tocho and a ton of cake. We also got a million free references and got sent out the door with cake to take home and a stomach full of 10 tacos. Boo ya, so sweet! Thanks Ernesto 🙌
– Our absolutely top 10 member, ward mission leader, and basket baller Arturo made us food on Thursday and I could not have been more impressed. Anyone who visits Mexico City needs to knock his door and ask for the Hot Dog Estilo Chatarra Super Gringo which he claimed was famous throughout the mission (I’d never heard of it) for its taste. I got served 3 massive hot dogs covered in bacon, mayo, chipotle sauce, jalapeños, grilled onions, crushed Ruffles chips, and fries, topped with cajeta which I’m pretty sure is sweetened condensed milk? Or whatever the heck it’s called. I’ve never left so stuffed and never walked around a day later still suffering with a heavy-feeling stomach. It’s my favorite new Mexican dish and I even think I can cook it. Jared West definitely could.
– I’ve been keeping a personal study journal more frequently with things I lile and learn from my scripture study. Holy cow, I have learned so much and it’s so cool. You all gotta go try it!
Speaking of which…
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Mannnnnn I love the Book of Mormon so much and I really do think there is something we can learn every time we open the pages. Holy smokes!
Anywho, this week I studied Ether 12, especially verse 4 which I’m prettttty sure is the scripture on my missionary plaque. Someone go check for me! Here’s what it says:
“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”
So, belief leads to faith. Faith leads to hope, hope that we can find God in this life and that things will work out better than they are. Now, my favorite word in this verse is anchor. When you want to make a boat stay in the same place, do you throw down a few dinky plastic anchors tied to string and hope they catch on some underwater bushes, or do you drop down a big steel thing connected to a chain and latch it onto something secure, like a boulder? Is our testimony a dangerous balance of belief in leadership, church history, policies, traditions, and friendship? Or is our testimony one solid, secure, sure anchor bound to the perfect foundation that is Jesus Christ?
Which set of anchors will hold when waves, winds, storms, and sharks come? A couple (or even 10) dollar store trinkets or one, designed and proven anchor designed to keep you steady? I know what I am choosing. Joseph Smith, Russell M. Nelson, white shirts and ties and only men as baptismal witnesses are temporary, are changeable, and as for the humans, deeply imperfect. Christ does not use perfect, or nearly perfect, or sometimes even kind of perfect people to run His church. Think of Saul, later Paul. Think of Alma the Younger. Even the Lord God uses “vile sinners” to run His work.
So, if you don’t like changes or adaptions to church leadership, church policies, traditions, practices, or people, great. Fine. Whatever. But think about where your anchor is set. Will your boat get broken loose or even sunk when questions and doubts come about church history or the actions of some members?
Anchor yourself to the only thing worth anchoring yourself to. Of all the temporary and often rather simple things in life, many are great and many are dandy. But don’t let yourself lose your focus on what you should be completely and solely anchored to: Jesus Christ. Questions will come, so will doubts and so will difficulties. Prepare yourself for the waves and anchor yourself to the only thing that can save and protect you!
Anyways, pardon the rant! There is always so much we can learn and apply from the scriptures and I love it. Go study the Book of Mormon and make it’s teachings your lifestyle! You will see yourself less anchored to temporary things and more anchored to the Eternal Savior. I promise!
I love you all so much. And because I love you, I want you to get out there and make it an absolutely fantastic week! Go help make it a fantastic week for someone else too, we all need it!
Talk soon mis queridos amigos!
Elder Crockett ❤️
