Email 13/3/17
Hello everybody,
Well, there goes another week in Motril. It feels like a lot has happened since the last time I wrote. Here’s some of what went down this week:
As I said in my last letter, we went up to Granada and visited The Alhambra on P-Day. The Alhambra is a palace/fortress complex and is actually the most visited tourist site in Spain. It’s really impressive. I had already been there before, but this time was different because the bishop’s wife of the Granada Ward came with us and gave us a tour of it, so it was nice to be able to learn a little more about the historical significance of it.
The hot water in our house still isn’t working. The dueña (landlady) and her dad came down (they live in Granada) to inspect the problem on Wednesday. I still don’t think we’ve figured out exactly why we don’t have hot water, but they’re going to come back soon and replace some of our faucets to see if that’ll help anything. Even though I doubt that’s the problem. It’s definitely something to do with the pipes or the hot water heater. Hopefully we make some more headway with this soon, but at any rate, it’s been very frustrating trying to get this problem solved.
The weather has turned very pleasant this week, it feels like summer has started. We were out proselyting comfortably in short sleeved shirts this week. Although this week isn’t supposed to be quite as warm (it’s actually overcast and a bit rainy as I’m writing this), I’m remembered how blessed I am to serve in an area that doesn’t have winter haha.
We taught Miguel and Jessica a few times this week, and they came to church for the second time yesterday! They’ve been doing such a good job with keeping their commitments to read from the Book of Mormon and pray, it’s been great, and they’re progressing well. They’ve expressed their desire that they’re wanting to keep learning more and more about the restored gospel, and it’s been such a privilege being able to teach them and see their progress.
Notwithstanding how well things are going with our investigators, we still encountered a lot of opposition to our work this week. In the Book of Mormon, Alma Chapter 30 gives an account of a man named Korihor, who is referred to as an “Anti-Christ” because of his teachings which were contrary to those of The Lord and His prophets. This happened approximately in the year 74 B.C. The basis of his teachings was that there would not be a Christ, and that looking for Him is “a foolish and a vain hope.” (verses 12-13). He targeted first the prophecies handed down by holy prophets, or in other words, the scriptures, calling them “foolish traditions of your fathers.” (14). Next, he attempted to discredit the power of faith and a testimony, asserting that, “ye cannot know of things which ye do not see; therefore ye cannot know that there shall be a Christ” (15). He then attributed the feelings of hope and faith to “the effect of a frenzied mind” (16), and continued by asserting that we don’t need a Savior nor an Atonement because “every man prospered to his genius, and that every man conquered according to his strength” (17). He ended by saying that, “when a man was dead, that was the end thereof” (18), or in other words, it doesn’t matter what we do in this life because we’ll never have to face the consequences afterwards.
All of those false assertions that Korihor made were all things that I heard people tell me during the week. Seriously, all of them! The Book of Mormon makes such a detailed account of the attacks on the church that Korihor and his contemporaries made for a reason, principally because the adversary is still using these same exact tricks today to lead the hearts of men away! The fundamentals in the adversary’s playbook haven’t changed too much over time. As President Benson said, “The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and . . . fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time.” Studying the scriptures blesses us with the foresight necessary in order to avoid the ever-present attacks of the adversary in our lives.
I hope you all have a great week!
Love,
Élder Stark ??
Photos
1: The Alhambra
2-3: Inside The Alhambra
4-5: Views of Granada from The Alhambra
6: Stole my picture
7: Vi una columna (de luz…)
8: Elder Pack and I
9: Elder Bird, Elder Pack, Elder Jones, Elder Köhler, Elder Morgan, Elder Stark
10: Sunset from the bus
11: We made paella as a district, and it turned out alright. Elder Köhler, Elder Bird, Hermana Gentry, Elder Stark, Elder Pack, Elder Morgan, Elder Jones, Hermana Woods
12: Until next time
