Another cool word from Thai: "repent" translates to "return heart." When we repent, we return our heart to a previous state of purity, we return our heart to Christ who had it in the beginning. Neat.
Christmas here was neat. Russell M. Nelson spoke, which was good. We also had a talent show, which made me feel weird. The highlight was probably getting to talk with family for half an hour. That was great. We also watched Ephraim's Rescue, and at first I didn't want to because I've already seen it 3 times. But it was really good. I still learned things and felt the spirit.
In language study, we learn vocabulary and grammar and then practice with each other. One of the subjects this week was on living the law of chastity, including no sexual relations before marriage, no homosexual behavior, no pornography, etc. During the role play, my assigned partner doesn't give a whole lot of effort to learning the language, and therefore doesn't speak really well. After he struggled to convey the lesson, he asked if I would commit to follow homosexuality. I declined. That was funny.
Another subject was on taking/bringing objects, abstract ideas, and people to places (there are different words for each of them). One sister in the class told me I should bring a willingness to learn to the bathroom, which was funny. I think she was trying to say classroom. Once again, I declined.
Our devotional last night was awesome. We had Richard Elliot (the organist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir) and David Archuleta come and perform music for us. It was very good.
We watched a recording of a talk by Elder Bednar given a while ago called "Recognizing the Spirit." He said that the question he gets asked most as an apostle is "Elder Bednar: How do I know if it's the spirit or if it's just me?" I have had this question, and I know of many who have as well. Here's the answer, straight for an apostle: quit worrying about it. Quit fussing, quit analyzing. Get to work, be a good boy or girl and do what you know you're supposed to, and your paths will be guided. Most of the time, we don't even know that we've been influenced, and we just go along doing the things we do. He also said "You will encounter adversity because it's true. The adversary knows it, and is throwing everything he can at it." It was an awesome talk.
We had an investigator who was interested in the church, but didn't seem really committed. He repeatedly didn't act or really try to understand. We invited him to read Alma 32:27, which says that if you will just experiment on the word and watch for its fruits, it will grow in you and you will be filled. He did, and when we invited him to baptism again, he accepted. I know that this gospel brings joy and peace, and that all that is necessary to gain that initial feeling is to just experiment. You don't have to make binding covenants or dramatic life changes to feel it.
Our room was once again complimented from a room inspector. The note we got said: "Elders, this is great. Thanks so much for keeping this clean" along with a couple minor suggestions. We have people from the other half of the district visit at night sometimes because our room is peaceful and clean. It's great.
-Elder Parish
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