A Cry to a Missionary!

Elder Oakes receiving a text

 A friend of mine from home, (who is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) put this letter together with her friends to send to me as a reminder of what I as a missionary am here to offer and of those who are looking for it. Many of her friends, like many of mine recently joined the church and agreed that bits and pieces of this parallel things they felt and questions on their minds.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

It took me weeks and I was way to ancy about getting the layout right, but I finally made this cool presentation about what Jesus Christ has done for us and how we can follow him.  The videos in it have some of my favorite Mormon Messages.  There's a surprise at the end, so check out all the videos and don't stop clicking for the next slide until it won't let you anymore.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ on Prezi

What difference a table makes...

Again I saw myself sitting in the middle of one of the proverbs that the Savior used so much in his teaching. He said in Luke 14:8-11:

When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 

I can imagine the higher and lower rooms being like the kids table and adults table my family would have at thanksgiving. From Christ's words I can imagine the shame the would come from taking a seat at the adults table and being told to go sit with the kids. By contrast, the joy that comes from being asked to leave the kids table and sit with the adults is it's own reward.  I know Christ expects us to humble ourselves and be willing to accept a role that's beneath what we want before he'll give us something better.

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.