Happy Easter! This week was super awesome! Today is the first day that I've worn a short sleeve shirt in 6 months! Is winter over yet? I might jinx us and we might have another snow day haha! We had another exchange and this time went with the elders in Wheaton. Now since we get to be zone leaders we go on an exchanges like every single week! It's way fun! And also always a learning experience of course. I went to Wheaton with Elder Weinmuller who is this body builder man who is truly one of the coolest dudes on the planet. We were out and about knocking some doors and this lady drove up to us and was like, "Hey, what church are you from?" We said, "The true church." No, JK, we told her where we were from and we managed to set up a return appointment and teach her the next day and it went really well! Always super gnarly finding people on exchanges! It was a pretty great day and it seemed that Elder Dodson and his companion for the day killed it too. No better way to start off a week!
So funny story there are these doorbell called "RING" doorbells. These things are literally like missionaries worst nightmare because they literally actually suck because they have a camera and microphone and speaker on it so it literally gives people an excuse to talk to you without actually talking to you. So whenever I see these things now in the wealthier neighborhoods I just knock, I don't ring them because they make this sound that will honestly probably give me PTSD for the rest of my life. Well, turns out the camera's still record either way. So a member at church came to us and he's like, "Did you guys see this?" Apparently his neighborhood had this group chat thing and he showed us a video of us walking to the door and knocking on it and waiting to send the contact. The subject was, "Does anybody know who these strangers are?" As missionaries when it's cold outside we definitely look like strangers because Elder Dodson and I happen to look like two 14 year olds knocking on people's doors and nobody can really tell who we are when we have all these coats or jackets on. It made us laugh because the "strangers" in the video were definitely us, and it really makes me wonder how many doors are actually filming me... because I'm pretty sure there has been several situations where I earth-bended the door right after nobody answered. So there's probably plenty of videos of missionaries or "strangers" who are putting some sort of weird hex on the house when nobody answers. Great. I promise we're Christian, not Satanists or avatars (even though it would be so cool to be the avatar!?)
So we finished the neighborhood that was literally 95% Indian this week and I must say we have really gotten a lot better at learning how to contact all these people of the Hindu faith. Like there are trigger words and questions that make them interested. Now probably like 35% of the time they will accept the Book of Mormon and be willing to learn more. Much more than the usual like 5% for close minded Christian white people. So we found a ton more new people this week from Hindu nation, however we don't know how much they will be able to progress. It should be an experience to teach them!
So we had a pretty dope #4/20. It was pretty fire, not because of the wonderful day, but because it was a Saturday and Saturdays are game day! We met with lots of people and taught and found. There was only one lame-o who told us the Book of Mormon was an abomination and asked us if we believed Jesus was God and we told him yes. We shared Mosiah 15 with him and were like, "See, Jesus is God!" Shut the poor dude up. Good thing we didn't have to talk about how Jesus is the God of the old testament and not God the father haha. But he told us we believe in false doctrines and we threw down some Bible verses and then walked away and then he came back outside and was like, "Bros..... it's just the thing is... the Book of Mormon actually is an abomination. There are no other books and there are no prophets." We asked him if he thinks the Bible is complete. He said yes. We read some scriptures with him that literally talk about books that are missing from the Bible like 1 Chronicles 29:29 and that got him. Then he just told us we were prideful and went inside and said he would pray for our pride to go away.
So this week I've spent a lot of time in the Bible. It actually supports the belief and theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! That's why we believe in it! Wow! The church is so true! The Bible and the Book of Mormon go hand in hand and both testify of each other. Studying the scriptures and cross referencing scriptures has become like my obsession. Every night I get home and when the day is over I'm in the scriptures now every chance I get extra time. It's like trying to figure out this giant puzzle. I want to be able to have lots of scriptures from the Bible and the Book of Mormon memorized so I can throw them out in contacts and lessons. It's the way to go. But also the Hindu nation doesn't believe in either of them so not so necessary on their part haha.
I guess last of all this week was a bangin' Easter. I found a horribly hideous Easter tie that said "Happy Easter" and had a picture of the Easter bunny on it. It was definitely probably a little apostate, but there is only one day in the year I could possibly wear it! so I wore it and actually ended up taping a picture of Jesus on it because that's what Easter is really all about! so it was a grand holiday.
This week I had multiple people tell me that I "was lost" and that "everything I believed was false doctrine" and that "I should study the Bible more." So I did. It's not false. It's true. I've had to defend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Christian church in the past (believe it or not some people think it's actually not Christian even though it says it right in the name). I don't even know if I want to call it a Christian church anymore. It's not just another apostate Christian church where everybody studies out of the same Bible but interprets it differently. The Bible says that no scripture is of private interpretation. God is going to tell us what it means, and he's going to do that through personal revelation and a prophet. Continuing revelation has always been persecuted and it always will be. Constant direction from God is hard because it means change, it means growth, it means progression. But it also means truth. I can testify that this church is true. That it is persecuted because it has been in every dispensation. There is a prophet of God on the earth today. God's mouth isn't shut. The Book of Mormon is the way for us to know that. I know that by the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things! That is a promise from a prophet of God and I believe that with all my heart. This church is TRUE!
A homie called me prideful but in the end the faith needs to be defended. Gotta share one last dope quote before I end.
"To say that all churches are true is to say that all paths lead to the same place. It is to say there is no agency; no power of action, no right choice. It is to say that inactivity is to be valued as activity, that ignorance is to be valued as intelligence, that good has no supremacy over evil, and that Christ is no better than the devil. To those who act offended that we would say there is but one true and living church, we might ask if these same people would, when sick, be willing to take any randomly selected combination of drugs to cure what ails them or administer the same to their children? Would they substitute sand for flour when baking bread? Arguing that as long as they were sincere, it could possibly make any difference? Would they fill their gas tank with water, arguing that it too was a true liquid and was also a creation of God and that God loved all liquids the same? We simply do not argue that all doctors are the same, that all medicines are the same, that all food is the same. No one takes offense at such announcements. How strange is it that we take offense at their spiritual counterparts? There can only be good if there is darkness. Success exists only where there is possibility to fail. Courage exists only where there is temptation to flee with the cowards. There can be truth only if there is that which is untrue. The two are not interchangeable; they do not and cannot bring fort the same fruits."
-Joseph Fielding McConkie
The most important thing in the end we can do is to pray and ask God!
Hope everyone's week is amazing!
Elder Jensen
Pics
1. Easter
2.Average Illinois doormat = still full send.
3. The sleek tie <3
4. Lobster bisque
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