Feb 27, 2016

Hey everyone!  

All is well for me here.  I`ve been working a lot more here on the business side of things...talking to landlords, dealing with hospitals and whatever other type of business, and learning how to work with contracts.  It`s all pretty dang neat to me.  It opens up a whole new understanding of the world and how things work.  And, on another hand, I DROVE FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY!! :D  It felt SOOOOOO nice.  Haha  It`s been forever, but I felt real good behind the wheel.  Kinda makes me miss driving down the backroads there in Arkansas.  To make things even better, it was a truck. lol 

So my trainer, Bradford Peck, after being home for two weeks is engaged.  Since then, there have been several other friends of mine from the mission that have gotten engaged.  That has triggered several other conversations both with young missionaries and with senior missionaries about the "do`s and don`ts of marriage/dating"  That being said, I`ve decided to reflect personally on my understanding of the subject. 

I feel it such a blessing that we have the scriptures, prophets, leaders, and the Holy Ghost to help guide us in these often difficult aspects of life.  Though they are difficult, if we approach them with a humble prayerful heart, we can`t go wrong.  

Why it`s important:  As a latter-day saint, I know that the purpose of dating is to find yourself a spouse that will help you to 1) be happy 2) create a family 3) achieve salvation and life eternal in the Celestial Kingdom through living the gospel of Jesus Christ here on the earth. As children of Heavenly Father, our purpose on this earth is to make wise decisions that allow us and our families to return to His presence.  Though many in the world view marriage as a limiting burden, I understand it to be an uplifting gift intended to help us attain this difficult aspiration.  As many people have witnessed and experienced, it is impossible to achieve a fullness of happiness without another person helping you.  This was one of the reasons that Christ made Eve.  The purpose of having another with us eternally is so that they can help us to push ourselves spiritually to be the best saints that we can.  After all, it was Eve that helped Adam to see the need to sin.  Through this beautiful moment, it was made possible to both Adam and Eve to obtain a higher level of happiness.  Look at all of the miracles that have come through their willingness to help each other.  

What should we do:  

1) Be prayerful-When we think about beginning a relationship with someone, whether it be dating or marriage, we must make this all important decision only through a divine confirmation by the Holy Ghost that this is truly Heavenly Father`s plan for us.  If we do this, we will be able to whole-heartedly say to our spouse when things get hard, and don`t kid yourself...they will, "Don`t worry.  I know that Heavenly Father has given us each other so that we can make it through this trial and draw closer to Him.  We can do this together"

       

2) Realize that it`s much greater than just ourselves-Marriage is the gateway to many other experiences in life.  I like the quote from President Eyring, "Both the happiest and most painful experiences in life happen within the family"  We have to realize that when we get married or date, we are setting the future for ourselves, our future children, our family, our friends...everyone that has a part of our lives.  If we marry for selfish reasons, it will always end up negatively affecting our relations with others.  We would literally trade these happy experiences for painful ones.  We need to have a spouse that will help us create an optimal environment for experiencing more of the happiness there is to life and less of the pain.  

3)  A heart and mind set on the future-Dating and marriage are investments.  We are investing our time, energy, money, feelings, and parts of our spirits in other people. We don`t marry expecting our spouses to be perfect.  If you do, you will feel upset and "let down" the rest of your life.  We marry with an eternal prospective.  As I`ve many times been told, "We don`t marry to have the perfect spouse, we marry the spouse with the most potential."  We marry because of what we and our spouses can become.  We marry because we know that they will help us through every step of the way, until we get to the end when the Lord tells us "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. "

I testify that though it is many times difficult, if we will do these three things, we will have successful marriages.  Not only that, but the future generations of our families will be set in stone.  Heavenly Father WILL bless us.  We will achieve all that He has in store for us and we will achieve, a perfect state of eternal happiness.  Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson

natedog94@myldsmail.net

Feb 20, 2016

Hey yall!  This week was pretty awesome.  The Clarks (senior couple) went out of town for a few days, so I had the opportunity to test my abilities as the financial secretary.  I feel that my abilties were definitely pushed.  I learned a lot.  I had to use deductive reasoning to figure stuff out for myself instead of having someone there to give me the answers.  It felt a lot like it did when I finished my training with Elder Peck. 

This week I was talking with one of the guys and we got to talking about girls left at home.  The conversation came to the reasons why we did it.  Eventually, that escalated into talking about why exactly it is that as missionaries we set everything aside for two years to come serve the Lord in another land.  It was really enjoyable to me to learn better why it is that other missionaries are here.  This conversation made me reflect on several things.  What I´ve left behind to be here,why I did it, and what I´ve gained from making these sacrifices.  

1. What we leave behind as missionaries- As missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we leave behind a wide variety of things to allow us to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Many leave behind girlfriends, boyfriends, fiancés, friends, jobs, studies, and even family.  I feel like these are the many things that we generally associate with LDS missionaries.  As a missionary, I have learned of a few things that we sacrifice that are a little bit deeper than surface level.  Some of the which are sleep, freetime, emotional stability, a sence of secureness physically, freeness from anxiety, and just overall normal commodities.  As you can see, there are many things that are sacrificed when one is "called to serve" of the Lord.
2. Why are we here- It has been prophesied and planned since before the formation of the earth that in the latter-days, the House of Israel, or the people of God, would be reunited once more.  As missionaries, we are a part of this prophesy!  How awesome is it to be able to say with serene surity that you have been called of God to a work of great importance!  Another promise we have is missionaries is that our families will be blessed for our service.  It doesn´t matter if you come from an all LDS family or if you´re the only member, your family will ALWAYS receive blessings from your efforts.  It doesn´t matter if you think your are a "successful missionary" or not, even when we don´t see them, blessings both big and small overflow from the heavens upon our families when we serve the Lord.  The last reason that I´d like to share is because we know that we will develop exponentially as individuals and as disciples of Christ in this time period.  We attain a better understanding of the gospel, a closer and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, and we develop character traits that will help us in our futures as leaders, families, and figures in the community. 
3. What blessings have been received-I personally am so grateful for the opportunity that I have and that I´ve had to serve a full time mission for the Lord.  When I came out to Chile, I wasn´t exactly sure what I believed.  I wasn´t sure if I had been completely convinced that I really do have a conviction of the things that I professed to believe.  I thought to myself, "I will know for sure what I believe if I do this."  With the help of many others, I was able to come out here.   I not only have recieved that conviction that I searched and desired, but I´ve had the blessing of the opportunity to share this conviction with others to help them attain the same.  I have seen the gospel positively change the lives of individuals and families.  I have seen the hands of God guiding me and them in their decisions in their entirety.  I have felt the joy that many of the prophets felt when the House of Israel was living righteously.                                                                                         Although I am the only member of the church in my family, I have seen the Lord abundandtly bless my family.  I have witnessed them undergo a change of heart.  I have seen them seek to understand me and the church more.  I have seen them scrutinize the scriptures.  Most of all, from what I can see, I have seen their desires to better their quality of life augment.  Some may see this as a normal occurance in human life, but I see it as answered prayers.  I see it as Heavenly Father listening to my prayers and giving my family the opportunity to make them a reality.  I have total confidence in my family because they are doing exactly that.  I know that Heavenly Father has many more blessings in store for my family and anyone that I ask Him to bless, but that all depends on me.                                                                                                                                     
4.  In the last year and a half, I have seen myself change.  I am nowwhere close to the same man that I was when I arrived in Chile.  Many people say that serving a mission turns a boy into a man.  I concur with this statement.  Although I thought that I was already a man before my mission, I have learned not only how to be a better man, but how to be the man that Heavenly Father wants and needs me to be.  I have learned how to set personal goals and to work towards them.  A few of these are as follows: 1)To be more trusting in others. 2)To love unconditionally no matter how somebody treats me. 3)To be patient not only with others, but with myself. 4) To have more integrity. 5)To be more sensitive to the enticings of the Holy Ghost. 6)  The most important, to turn to Heavenly Father in all that I do...in my successes and in my failures.  To trust in His promise that he will "make my weaknesses strengths."                                                                                   

As you can see, this is something that I have thought about a great deal.  I pray that this message would ease the burdens of someone else out there, whether they be a member of the church, missionary, or any other person that needs it.  I pray that Heavenly Father would open your hearts to make His greatness known unto you.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live.  They are ressurected beings that love us.  They desire the best for us.  They want to guide us so that we make good decisions that one day allow us to return to their presence.  Serving a full time mission is the best decision that I have ever made.  It is something that every young man and woman should do.  I challenge any young man or woman reading this to take the step to accept the calling of the Lord to serve a full time mission.  It will be the greatest blessing of your entire life.  As my beloved sister Rachel told me just before I left, "You´ll find that the blessings aren´t just yours to behold." 

Of these things I testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder  Jackson

Feb 13, 2016

Hello everyone!  It´s been another great week here in the mission.  I am adjusting myself a lot bit more to the office life.  I´m getting into a rhythm with a schedule and exercises.  Obviously it´s different, but I´m adapting.  It´s kind of funny because I used to not know exactly what to think when people said that the office elders don´t do anything…This is SUCH A LIE!  Haha.  I´ve never worked so hard in my whole mission.  It truly is a different type of work, but that´s one of the things that I like the most about it...none of it is for self-satisfaction!  Everything we do, is for other people.  We take care of all of the administrative matters so that all of the other missionaries in the mission can better focus on spreading the gospel to others.  Not to say that we don´t do that too, because we do, just not as much.  

It made me think a lot about the story of Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon (Alma 43:16).  Captain Moroni was a great General for the Nephite people.  He led not only with word, but by his example.  He led his armies against almost hopeless numbers of enemies; all the while, putting his faith in the hands of the Lord and trusting in the Lord’s will.  Why did he do this?  Other than being called of God for this cause, he felt a great patriotism for the Nephite people.  He wanted nothing more than the freedom of his people and for them to prosper in the land.  For these causes, he fought with all of his might, mind, and strength.  He fought against the very literal powers of Satan...against corruption, sinfulness, and oppression.  To me, that is the perfect leader.

Although it is in a different circumstance, I share similar feelings with Captain Moroni. I feel a great pride to be a part of the Mission Chile Santiago South.   I feel that every single Missionary is my soldier...that it is my duty and responsibility to keep them fighting..to make things happen.  They look to me for answers and results.  The times of responding with “I don´t know." to questions and difficult situations have passed.  Now, I have to be able to come up with results.  I´m not going to lie…it´s overwhelming at times, but I know that if I put my faith in the Lord, give Him my ALL, and seek his guiding hands, and do what He would have me do, then He will help me to realize why He has placed me to this position.  I pray that I would do exactly that.  That I would learn the things that I am to learn here, and that I will be the man that Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, President and Hermana Cook, the missionaries here, the members of the church, and the people waiting for them need.  All I have to do is do my best and seek to do the Lord’s will, and “and in turn, all things shall be opened unto me:”  

I pray that each of you would take upon yourselves this sacred calling.  Take upon yourselves the duty of helping others fulfill more fully their role in the church and in life...whatever it may be...mom, dad, brother, sister, home-teaching, with classes, leading activities...whatever it may be.  Be the Captain Moroni.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson

I know my Savior Lives!!

Feb 6th, 2016

Hey everyone!  So first off, sorry for not writing on Wednesday if you were expecting to hear from me.  It wasn´t my fault!  haha.  So what happened is this.  My mission president called me to serve as the Mission Financial Secretary.  I even have my own office in the mission office and everything.  I have been working from 9am-midnightish every day since my call.  It´s really great!  I´m learning a lot about accounting skills, so that´ll really help me since I have in mind to study business and accounting after my mission.  I take care of ALLLL the things that the mission buys.  It´s pretty cool.  I just started Wednesday, so I don´t know a ton, but I´m learning.  President told me that I´d be here until I leave in August,so that´ll give me a fair amount of time to get used to everything.  :)  

I am now in the ward San Bernardo.  My church building is actually the building where the mission office is, so this building is basically my home now.   I spend way more time here than I do at our actual house.  I have taken the initiative in putting a couple of decorations in my office to make it more homey. (automatic air freshener with apple cinnamon scent, traditional mask, Razorbacks foam finger)  It makes it more me.  :)

With our schedule here in the office, I have to wake up early if I want any time to study because we have to be at the office at 9am.  (the time that you´d normally start studies)  Because of this, I´ve been pondering a lot about why it is important that I do that....that I wake up early to study...even though I´m getting home much later.  Some Elders would see that as difficult, but I see it as a necessary sacrifice.  A sacrifice necessary to "feast upon the words of christ”.    As I have previously stated, I,like Nefi, seek guidance through the scriptures, for they tell us all things that we should do. 2Nefi 32:3-5  I find myself in the same situation as Nefi and his family in 1Nefi 5:21 " And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children."

The scriptures truly are of great worth to each and every one of us.  They contain the pure doctrine of Jesus Christ, the perfect teacher.  If we would not just read the scriptures, but scrutinize and apply them to our daily lives, we´d see miracles worked through us.  I have passed through another test to see where I hold the scriptures in terms of value.  I invite each of you to ask yourself,"Where do I hold the scriptures in terms of value?  Do I put other unnecessary things ahead of them in my priorities?"  If this is the case, I exhort you to change that immediately because you´re in the process of falling into the hands of Satan.  Don´t let that happen!  Don´t let him have even an ounce of power in your life!  Recognize his work, and throw it out.  You´ll never regret the sacrifice   In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

-- 

Elder Joseph Nathaniel Jackson

January 27th 2016

Hello everyone!!  So, this week has been a little bit like a roller coaster.  The weather keeps going back and forth between hot and cold.  Needless to say, it`s not helping my body.  This week was a little slow, but on the plus side, I have a friend here that just sent in her mission papers.   So, we are way excited for her.  We can`t wait to be there when she opens up and reads her call.  Also, the Mission President gave us permission to go to the doctor by taxi from now on, so that`ll save us a lot of time in traveling. :D

 I was reading in Mosiah this week and there was a part that really caught my attention.  

MOSIAH 18:18-29  I like this because it tells us exactly how the original Church of Christ worked.

1. (verses 18-20) They were called to preach re and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
2. (verse 21) There were no contentions among them
3. (verse 23)  They honored the day of rest (kept the sabbath day holy).
4. (verse 24)  The leaders worked
5. (verse 25)  They had a day set apart to unite themselves (Family home evening)
6. (verse 26)  They were strengthened by the Holy Spirit through their knowledge of the gospel attained through diligent studies of the scriptures
7. (verse 27)  They paid tithing
8. (verse 28)  They gave to the needy
9. (verse 29)  They helped each other temporally and spiritually.

To many of us, this should all sound very familiar.  When I read this, it made me think of our modern prophets and what they have taught us and continue to teach us.  Though many of these things appear to be relatively new concepts, they`re not.  They were all initiated at the beginning of the history of the church in the Americas. Reading this just reinforces my testimony that the Prophets are led by God.  They`re not old men who have good ideas.  They`re men who really know the Savior on a personal level.  Through this understanding, they`re able to carry out His will here in the earth.  I invite each of you to pray about the divinity of each of our leaders and to apply their teachings into your lives.  They will lead us to an all new love of the Savior and His gospel.  Of this I testify, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder Joseph Nathaniel Jackson

January 13, 2016

Hey one and all!  Has been a good week all in all.  The weather here has been really weird...cold at night/morning and hot during the day.  Normally it`s pretty much hot all the time here this time of year.  I finished the Liahona of the General Conference this week…and it was awesome!  It truly is such a gift to have Prophets to guide us in these latter days...to help us face the daily problems in this day.  

I find it really interesting the way Heavenly Father teaches us.  Vary rarely does he just give us the answers to problems and make us understand ;however, he is constantely presents us with opportunities to answers to our questions for ourselves.  I have been pondering on this principle a lot these last two changes.  The experience has been completely different than any other change in my mission, that doesn`t mean that it has been bad.  It means that I have had other things to learn.  I love all that my Father has taught me.  I love the feeling of knowing that I am being guided in all that I do...there really is nothing like witnessing divine intervention in my life.

Here lately, I have been thinking a lot on the love of the Savior.  

 Isiah 41:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

  2nd verse of "How Firm A Foundation"  "In ev'ry condition--in sickness, in health,In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

I have pondered about the reality of these proclamations,promises, and reassurences and have come to understand more fully this part of the role of Jesus Christ in our eternal progression.  As many of you know, Christ passed through every trial, tribulation, pain, and agony possible...why?  He passed through it all for two reasons 1) To obey the Father  2) To learn how to succor us when we pass through the same trials.  How is it that we use Him to help us do exactly that?  How do we us Christ to overcome our trials?

1) Fear not-It is literally impossible for fear and faith to coexhist in the same person in the same moment.  For the hand of God to manifest itself in our lives, it requires that we show our faith.  That`s why the first step is to cast out all fear.  Faith is not just to believe, it is an action….. and we must all act in order to exercise true faith.

2) Become strengthened by the Lord-We do this by receiving correction willingly.  Not only to we receive it, but we seek it.  We find this in our leaders in the church, the scriptures, the Holy Ghost, and family members.  When we receive this correction and apply it in our lives, we are putting our trust in the Lord and showing faith in Him, in such, being endowed with strength from the heavens. 

3) Always remember Him and what Him/You represent to the world-No matter what your circumstances are,no matter if you`re at home, at work, at school, in another country, on your mission, healthy, sick, rich, or poor...we all need Christ.  If we remember Him in all moments, he will forever be with us not only in spirit, but literally in our hearts in every moment.  

If we can achieve this, every one of us, we will see the growth of the kingdom of heaven here on earth like never before.  The Prophets have repeatedly told us that in the last days we would see the power of Satan manifested before our very eyes;however, they also told us that we would see more righteousness in the followers of Christ like never before.  Brothers and sisters, let us be these followers.  Let us be the ones to fulfill these prophesies.  I testify to each of you that you have it in you and that this is the destiny for which you were born.  Of this I testify, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson 

Dec 2, 2015

This week was a lot of running around and work.  We walked a ton.  My legs actually hurt.  I´m pretty sure we walked at least like five miles per day.  Things are heating up here in Santiago.  It`s pretty dang hot now.  It`s not as hot as home, but they don`t really have an ozone layer here, so the sun is very strong. Luckily, it starts to cool down around 6pm, so we get a couple hours of cooler weather at the end.  :) We went to the clinic yesterday for Elder Bahamóndez.  He has a problem with his colon.  Basically, he just cant eat fat.

So I just want to share a neat experience from this week.  We are teaching a less active name Daniel.  He is pretty much super active now.  He has been trying to decide if he wants to go on a mission or not for a while now.  He wants to, but he provides the majority of the money for his family...his mom, dad, him, and two younger brothers, so he is worried about what`ll happen to them.  For the reason of income, his parents are completely against it.  They aren`t members of any church and don`t want to listen to what we have.  We were basically having a heart to heart with Daniel and his mom.  She started talking about how she is sure that serving a mission has been real easy for me because I´m a grengo from the United States.  I love how Daniel responded. "Mom, every missionary has a different story.  They all come from different backgrounds.  We have three missionaries in our ward who were baptized and within two years went out on a mission.  Every one with a story different, but all amazing."  

That just really got me to thinking how truly amazing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. So I`m a convert missionary. Elder Bahamóndez is a convert missionary.  Elder Gutierrez is a convert missionary.  Each of us comes from a different part of the world....Arkansas, Chile, Bolivia, but the gospel has had the same lasting affect on each of us.  Each of us has felt the love of the Savior and from that love has sprung forth a desire to share it with the world.  The gospel truly is so amazing.  It doesn´t matter who you are, where you come from, if you´re the only member in your family, what your past is like, or even the mistakes you´ve made....the gospel cleanses us. It brings us closer to Christ and drives us to make the necessary changes in our lives to live in harmony with His law.  It is in that moment that we find not just happiness, but eternal happiness.  There is a huge difference...and when you feel it, you never want to go back.  I testify that this is the reality.  There is no other way to achieve it than through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I invite you to embrace this, love it, make it a part of you, and be eternally happy.  In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson