Can You Overcome Your Fears?

(This post is from a letter written home and is presented here in an edited form by Elder Todd's father in hopes that this will offer some degree of comfort to others.)

In the middle of my own troubling circumstances, I write to you in full manner of happiness, expressing my own comfort from the Lord.

. . . I often wrote, I believe, about my past which has been a great sorrow to me. I often felt as if I had failed in my past (as a teenager). I did not share the gospel of Jesus Christ as I should have. I did not speak kind words. I did many gospel duties halfheartedly. I was not as valiant as I could have been. Often those thoughts filled my head . . . I too often remembered the bad times rather than the good.

I know that the Lord has forgiven me of my grievances. I have felt His mercy and I enjoy His presence once more. As a flower grows with sunlight, my soul has grown in His presence. I recognize now that I, in the end of my adolescence, had both a testimony - which has been strengthened - and a knowledge of the scriptures - which has grown. . . God has shown me what I did not see.

I recognize now two incidents in my life that would place great importance in turning my life around. Remember in, I believe 6th grade, when I read a scary story that stated I was going to die, causing me to fear greatly? I cried myself to sleep twice that night, Bria (his sister) shared a scripture that influenced me: Alma 37:37. I learned to turn to God in prayer and to seek the scriptures. It would later form a testimony. I pray that she remembers that night.

The other is the youth activity where we caroled at an elderly home. When we ended the caroling, the leaders encouraged us to talk to the elderly. I didn't want to talk to anybody, so I joined another youth, listening to their conversation. A leader pulled me a way to an elderly woman, who nobody presently was talking with her. Though I have forgotten her name, she was a member of the church and she bore her testimony. I remember, because it still lingers with these words: "I know. I know. I know." I learned the power of testimony.

I am grateful . . . My past is not as dark as I see it and my future is bright. By the grace of God I have mastered the past and future. The present is to prepare; to build upon the talents, attributes and the testimony that I have. . . I am a son of God . . . I will go forward in the service of the Lord, magnifying my callings.

Love, 
Elder Todd

Elder Todd with his Sister prior to leaving for Virginia.

Mormon Missionary Attends A Baptist Church

I bear my witness that God the Father lives 
and that 

He gave us the gift of His Beloved Son 
out of love for us. 

I know as surely as I live 
that the resurrected Savior lives. 

He atoned for our sins.

 And I testify 
that He is the Light of the World and 

the sure source of 
comfort, hope, peace, and joy. 

I pray with all my heart 
that we all will draw closer to Him, 

to feel the warmth of His light and love. 

In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, 

whom we worship and serve, amen.

--Pres. Henry B. Eyring, First Presidency Christmas Devotional, Dec. 2014

Monday, December 8, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday.

I did not watch the church's Christmas Devotional, because I was at the choir performance. Besides, they had the added stipulation that in order to watch the devotional, we needed a recent convert, less active, or an investigator in order to watch it. However, I may listen to it soon. It was an hour and seventeen minutes.

It sounds like you had a good week by keeping busy. And it sounds like California is still warm as ever.

As regards to personal funds and taking my companion out to a restaurant, I do agree with the idea. However, we have also obtained funds through members who know the rules, but find ways to go around them. I talk of not being allowed to receive money in reward for doing service. Members know that and I know that. What they do is say, "Here's some money; go out to lunch." We refuse and say, "No, it is alright. We cannot take it." Then, they refuse our refusal and eventually, we are stuck with the money.  We have obtained enough funds through this unfortunate trade to go out to dinner. My companion has chosen the place already and is dying to go.

Monday, we sailed across the river, hiked over hills, dashed through the forest, (fought creatures along the way) and came to the Enchanted Forest. Or rather, without such excitement, crossed the bridge to Warsaw and snaked our way to a piece of property that is so deemed the Enchanted Forest. Some person owns this piece of property. The reason it is called such, is that the person carves carvings into some of the trees and paints them. He carved simple things, such as horses, spiders, and flowers; and then, more complicated subjects, such as Dora the Explorer, Minnie Mouse, and other subjects. It is pretty awesome. After such an adventure, we retired to the basement, where we spent the rest of P-Day. We tried different people that night, one of them being our single mother investigator who has been investigating for the past year. She missed out on Fast Sunday and the awesome testimony meeting, so we wanted to make sure things were well. She had little gas, so she could not come. I will return to her later.

Tuesday, we spent part of the day tracting. We prayed to find somebody and we did. It, of course, happened to be the last house we knocked on one side of the street. We taught the Restoration and liked it. He was not interested in baptism, but knew we were definitely sent by God and there was a reason why we were there. Later that day, we went to the less active who wants us to just open our scriptures to see where God takes us. Out of a suggestion by the branch president, we put a marker on a place where we wanted to turn and so happened to open to the place. It was a good lesson. We saw our investigator who I worried about mental capacity. We gave him an enlarged portion of Mosiah 16, so that he can read. He enjoyed that. When we returned on Thursday, we discovered that he had read indeed and gave him another assignment. When we teach him, we blend in some previous lessons to help him understand principles. It works, so far.

Wednesday, we helped a member with cleaning the gutters of a elderly lady. I swept pine needles off the roof. It was not a bad thing to do with my back. If anything, it made my abdomen muscles sore the next day. It looked a lot nicer. And I did what I could do. It was funny, when I first started sweeping, the head of the broom flew off. During the day, we visited another elderly couple and read the scriptures. The man of the couple has dementia and we discuss the scriptures to help him understand. Later that night, we had dinner with a member at a Mexican restaurant. It was a really nice thing. Then, we saw an investigator, whose aunt had passed a few week ago. He told us that he is no longer going to his church (he even told his church that), because he realizes we can answer his questions, especially about the afterlife. He wants to know more in order to be ready for baptism. He is on date, which is exciting.

Thursday, other than planning, we had another member dinner. I was a small family with some crazy kids. The kids were obsessed with saying some weird word of some concoction of theirs. It was funny though. One kid bopped their little sister (who is about three) and she said it in response to the offense. Not much else happened on Thursday. Friday, we finally saw an investigator who we have not seen in a couple weeks, because she was cancelling her appointments. Her eyesight is bad, but she manages. We taught what was needed to be taught and it went well.

That night, we served at the Relief Society and Young Women Dinner. The Relief Society President had decorated the place and it was finely decorated. It was a night in Bethlehem indeed. In fact, I could consider myself a publican at that moment for I had to collect taxes, in order for people to attain their food. (The women were furnished with burlap bags with pennies in them to pay their taxes for the food. For example, ham was two cents.) It was excellent. My companion discovered that the new sister missionary (we have a set of sister missionaries in addition to the senior couple in the Branch) and him have a best friend in common. The words were well said, whoever said them, "Small world for Mormons."







Saturday, my companion did the progress record while I did family history. I have looking at the siblings of people who we are related to and look at their spouses (who some may or may not be Mormons). Sometimes, I can see where there is work to do, which makes me excited. I look at it to make sure that their work is done and if it is not, then I am excited, because there is great potential there. All the more reason to go to the temple on a consistent basis when I return home. If I do not do their work, then who will? Much excitement in that area of life.

We saw the single mother investigator. Her kids were there for opening prayer and quickly trickled out. . .  AND SHE FINALLY PRAYED! It was much needed one step forward with an additional three steps back, but it allowed us to see what was holding her back from committing to baptism. It was a true heart to heart. So, she prayed and her two friends were, of sorts, her answer. They both brought up a concern that related to the idea of truth and tolerance. (It is amazing to see how God prepares us for certain situations.) One of them is an ex-Mormon (I am sure he is less active) who did not have a great experience as a child growing up in the faith. There was a lack of tolerance towards others. The other mentioned a different issue, but it related back to the idea of truth and tolerance. I love Elder Dallin H. Oaks' CES Devotional (found on lds.org or speeches.byu.edu) called "Truth and Tolerance." There is a need to be tolerant and there is a way to hold to the truth while being tolerant. It is upsetting to see a lack of tolerance, because there is really good people in other faiths'. As Elder Oaks points out in his devotional, Jesus taught kindness in our communications (and I add our actions) while having firmness in the truth. That is some of the things I brought up. I do understand that there is a fear to bring up our religion, because of criticism. I mean, for quite a while I did not mention that I was a Mormon. In fifth grade, I did not mention where I went to church. I have no idea why. I was even afraid to say the name Christ. All of these things I helped her to understand, which she understands. Then, she mentioned the principle of the Word of Wisdom. She has no issues or problems with breaking the Word of Wisdom. She has an occasional drink of wine (her last drink was a year and a half), but she believes it is healthy. We began to realize that her saying that the Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith is true is merely a head testimony. The idea that it is true makes sense to her, but there is no spiritual basis behind her claim of knowing it is true. We again invited her to read and pray. We finally have a concern we can work with.


I will combine Sunday with the rest of Saturday, because it involves stake conference. Stake conference was great. There were really good talks that I enjoyed. I really cannot speak much of it, because there are things I need to do beforehand. People remembered my birthday and people wished me a happy birthday. It was great. We did not do much on Sunday. Thanks for the shirt and tie. It was very much appreciated. I had a good birthday. It was simple.

And also
on Sunday, I went to a Baptist church. 
That was where the choir recital was. After a long choir practice, we headed off to the Baptist church. The church had a main floor and a balcony. We were sitting at the balcony. Many of the choirs sang to a track. There was a lot of pomp and cheer. It was quite interesting, because it is not the normal thing that I am used to. I am more of a traditional person, probably in part of the LDS culture that has been part of me. It was nice and rather loud. It was interesting to see the different music each church has. There were seven Baptist churches there, two Methodist churches, and us. Some of the music was quite nice. I mean, I am slightly interested in different church's music, because it is my curiosity in understanding different faiths.  This was to raise money for an Emergency Ministry, which goes about helping families in this one county that are in need. So, for the first time in my life, I put a dollar on the plate as it went around. The LDS choir members also did likewise. I was not alone in this different kind of offering.

So, we were not the worst choir there, but we were no means the best. That is being honest, because we did mess up during Gloria Patri. In the middle of the song, the different voices split. I am listening to each person to understand where we are at. Incidentally, we messed up that part. Other than that, our other song went well. We left with our ride after our song. It was close to curfew.

A bit of humor. Kind of how "they just can't get my nose right," they just can't get our name right. We were, according to the program, "The Church of Jesus Christ & Latter Day Saints." One choir member jokingly said, "It sounds like a band name: Jesus Christ & The Latter Day Saints." Talking to someone else later that night, "It makes us sound like we are Catholic."

It was a busy, busy week. And it went fast. I am actually quite surprised it has gone by. And a new transfer has officially begun.

Oh and we have a Christmas tree that is real. It is a humble Christmas tree, but it is a Christmas tree nonetheless.

All is well!

Shalom and Love,

Elder S. Todd

Delivering Mail Iraqi Style: Read to the End

Define normal? What is a normal young man and young woman like? There are roughly 88,000 missionaries mostly young adults just emerging from their teen years who face daily rejection, sometimes pain, sorrow, illness preach of  God and His Son Jesus Christ and the restoration of the fullness of His good news. They do this at their own expense. Their joy is in the faces of those who come to understand and know Christ. Their joy is in their service. Some because of illnesses or accidents must come home early and they do so reluctantly because they know who their Master is and who they really serve.

November 10, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Well, it has been a slow week over here as well. We worked hard, but not much came as a result. I like Tappahannock; I always like my country areas more than my city areas. I like having the open space and the fresh air that comes from the open space. Cities are condensed and I feel crowded. Or they might be dangerous like Petersburg. Other than that, I love the members everywhere and I have great joy when serving with them. I am enjoying the people here. I am slowly getting to know the people. Our members upstairs usually feed us on Sunday and as my companion says half the branch is there, only due to the fact that half the branch is related somehow to the members upstairs. (Of course, it may be somewhat of an exaggeration, but it is somewhat true.)

My back is doing a lot better. I generally have good days with my back. I do wake up sore around my back area, but as soon as I get moving, I feel better. Only once have I felt in pain, but generally taking Aleve helps. I know I need to work on my core strength and strengthen those muscles there. I am trying to figure out the best way to do that. I know I do not want to do sit-ups, because it might hurt my back.

I did receive the Halloween package. It was going to be a Thanksgiving package instead, but I was spared. More on that in a bit.

Monday, after our normal P-day tasks, we had dinner and we contacted a referral that we received from the sisters. We had a member come out with us, but the referral changed our time to meet with them to an hour later than planned. We met with them and talked. It is a man and woman; at this point, we are unsure if they are married or not. We taught them the Restoration and the man asked many questions, some of them off the wall. It was a good first lesson and we gave them a goal for baptism to help them think about it. After the lesson, we tried to see another person without much success.

Tuesday, we cleaned our apartment a bit. After lunch, we tried to contact people, but there was not much success in that. We had dinner and aided a member in their home teaching (members are assigned to visit families with a spiritual message and see if they have any needs). That was the success we had that day. 

Wednesday, we had a zone conference with the two zones that consist of the Richmond Stake, the two zones that consist of the Midlothian Stake, and the zone that consists of the Chesterfield Stake. It was a positive meeting that I got a lot out of listening to what was shared. I asked about mail afterwards, seeing as I knew I had a package, but nobody brought the mail with them. Luckily, one of the office missionaries came by to deliver mail. After the conference, we had to wait a bit and did not get home until about 5:30 or so. We went to the church after dinner and talked with a recent convert about family history and other things. Then, we joined the branch choir. Not many people were there. The men only consisted of us missionaries and the recent convert. To make matters worse, my companion and the recent convert are tenors. I was the only bass. It was really odd for me and I felt a bit anxious about it. We are doing a medley of Primary songs and a hymn out of the hymnal. We are also doing a song in Latin. So I am learning Latin, or at least the phrase, "Gloria patri et fillio et spiritui sancto. Amen." (Meaning, "Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Thursday morning, my companion stacked wood. I was not allowed to help and I am not liking it. I have been trying to find ways to do service. Afterwards, it was a day of trying to see people with not much success. 

Friday, we planned. Our appointment for the day cancelled. My companion did the progress record (we switch every week) while I did family history. Recently, I have been adding information to people. I am really fascinated by it. We did see one person, but it was not a good time. We saw a less active that night and they were talking about past missionaries. They had some good things to say. 

Saturday. This day was designated a social media day which I forgot to tell you about. The idea was for members to come out with the missionaries for a while and to take pictures of us, post things, etc. This was to show that we are normal, we try to help the community, and we believe in Jesus Christ. (This is due to the Book of Mormon musical that came into Richmond recently. Missionaries, as authorized by President, were standing outside the theater, so that people could ask them questions about the real deal. Originally, they were to pass things out, but the theater was not happy about that.) Well, we had nobody to come out with us, because they cancelled. It turned out for our benefit though. Saturday was a really off day. We did nothing. Why? Well, at 6:19 AM, I was peacefully dreaming when I heard in the midst of my sleep, somebody throwing up. Lo and behold, it was my companion who was sick. He was not going anywhere. He needed to rest and I made sure he rested. Meanwhile, throughout the day, I studied. It was a long day of nothing. 

Sunday, my companion was doing a lot better. We went to church; our new investigators showed up. We tried to see more people, but failed. Then we had dinner. The landlady received a call that day, saying she needed to go to work tomorrow (she works for the postal system). Well, here they drive normal cars that have something to identify them as mail carriers. Her car needed new brakes and her spare needed a starter. While we were having dinner, it was being fixed. It was a really nice dinner and quite enjoyable. We went downstairs afterwards, but went back up for something. We were talking to the landlady about something. Then, there was a loud boom, the house shook (mainly in the laundry room). We went outside. So, the car that was fixed with the brakes somehow failed (not sure exactly what happened). The car ended up rolling down the small hill it is on where it is normally parked and ended up hitting the house. The house was protected by a bench that was in shambles after the incident. (Kind of like how Bria hit the icebox freezer, but the icebox freezer and the car survived.) The car was pushed back and parked. Well, the radiator was crushed from the incident. That night, everybody was trying to fix the car, but nothing seemed to be resolved. She was able to find a way to do her job, but it was crazy with all that excitement and stress. When it happened, we had a person who has been and still is in the military. She said, somewhat jokingly, "I thought I was in Iraq again. I almost had a PTSD moment." (Delivering mail Iraqi style!)

Slow week, not much happened until the weekend.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd