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| Tønsberg |
Hallo hallo!
Hey
everybody! Did you all feel that heat-wave last week? Whew, now it's
finally back into the 60's - perfect for power-contacting out on the
street.
Well, for exciting things that happened
this week I would say that I got a few letters - thank you parents and
Hillary! Great to hear from you all. I am exceedingly blessed to still
get letters once in a while :).
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| Tønsberg - out for a lunch trip! |
On Saturday we took a train to Tønsberg to go and strengthen the district down there.What an awesome time to be with missionaries! There is truly something special about missionaries gathering, discussing the doctrine of Jesus Christ. We discussed how we can improve ourselves and better help those around us learn about Christ's gospel. -
The train ride over was also gorgeous - Norway is paradise during the summer. Rolling green hills, puffy white clouds, beautiful little red houses - I really am in Norway :)
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| I wish I could have captured the true beauty of Norway, but train windows don't work very well to take a picture through |
The APs called us up on Friday night saying they had
an appointment in Oslo, and they couldn't make it. So instead, they
called and asked us to see if we could make the appointment instead.
"Sure thing!" we responded. Turns out the appointment was at another
church, for their worship services. We met Erik - their contact - and
walked on in. Fog, lights, rockin' music, people painting on canvas',
and sing-a-long lyrics about Jesus Christ as our Savior and how through
Him we can become cleansed and transformed into better beings! Hey -
that was neat! Lots of people came up to us to talk with us. Christians
are just so good at fellowshipping and being friends with you! We truly
can communicate on common ground of faith in our Savior Jesus Christ!
The neat experience, though, was after the concert
when we met a kid who was just at the concert. We ended up talking with
him for one and a half hours about faith in Jesus Christ and the
necessity of the Book of Mormon. Here's a few questions he posed to us:
1. You guys believe in a different Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Umm
. . . do we? I was pretty sure Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance,
Baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End
was quite clearly stated in 3 Nephi 27:13-21. Is that not the Gospel of
Jesus Christ as expressed in the Bible? It truly is the power of God
unto salvation (Romans 1:16).
2. You guys believe that you can become like God.
This
truth is clearly stated within the Bible: Psalms 82:6, John 10:33-35,
Acts 17:29, Romans 8:17, Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 4:13, 1 John 3:2, 2
Timothy 2:10-12. Did Jesus Christ not command us to become like God when
He said: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven
is perfect" (Matthew 5:48)?
3. God and Jesus Christ are one.
Yes,
they are one in purpose, just as Christ commanded His disciples to be
one in John 17:19-23. Otherwise, who does Christ pray to? Himself?
After speaking with him, he invited us to his
worship services on Sunday. So Sunday came along and we attended yet
another rockin' worship service. I was really surprised to even hear
some dubstep in the middle of the prayer. Wow. The group then all
studied Acts 22 - which is a wonderful chapter covering Saul's
conversion. It reminds me of Alma's conversion story in the Book of
Mormon - see Mosiah 27:8-33. We met with a few people and they just
flooded us with questions regarding the Book of Mormon. The white
handbook says we're not allowed to proselyte around other churches, but
it doesn't include them asking us questions! Hehe. All I can say is that
we have been exceedingly blessed with random, neat opportunities to
share the gospel :).
First and foremost it is an exceedingly great
blessing that God continues to speak to us today through a living
prophet! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's
true, restored church through a prophet - just as God has done in
Biblical times! (Amos 3:7!)
May God's blessings be with you all! And as our new awesome Christian friends would say: "Takk Jesus!"
-Eldste Bryce Thomas Johnson
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| a YM/YW activity at a member's home! |
p.s. My Mom has pointed out to me that my grammar has recently
plummeted. I agree. It's the Norwegian, as well as the haste in which I
must write these emails - sorry everybody!
Note added later in the day:I would like you to add to my big email:
I would like
to excuse myself in saying that since I wrote my email this morning, I
have learned a great deal. My weaknesses are great. And at times I am
led to boasting and pride, rather than truly seeking the will of God.
With regards to that kid we met on the street: sure I can throw
scriptures down his throat all I want, but that will bring no true
progress. We must always remember that it is only the Spirit that can
preach the gospel. It is not the philosophy of man, or our
understandings of the scriptures, that will bring us closer to Christ.
It is the Spirit of revelation that brings us closer to Christ. As
missionaries, we must be tools in order to initiate the spirit of
revelation in our lessons, not just teach rote lessons. Anyone can read a
book aloud. But it takes the Spirit in order to drive the message into
the heart, and change that heart. I am not nearly perfect. I pray I can
excuse and overcome my prideful moments. Are we not all learning and
growing together? :) Thanks for being there during one of my growing
moments :)
