A really interesting thing I've read in the past week is the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi. Now I don't profess to understand all or even a majority of it, but I did learn some things about them. There was a footnote that said that of the 400+ verses in the Book of Mormon that can be compared in the Bible, over half of them have been changed in some way or another. If that's not proof that the Bible has been changed and edited and re-written and translated incorrectly by man, I'm not sure what is. I also think it is interesting that Isaiah said his prophecies will be understood once they come to pass. I wasn't too sure about that because a lot of it still seemed pretty confusing, but there was one chapter(2 Nephi 27 I think) that talked about Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and it was as clear as day. I was so surprised by it because it seemed so clear to me, how could people not see it? So I went and compared it to the chapter in Isaiah, and half the verses were missing and the other half were barely recognizable. So that just goes to show that the Book of Mormon really is the most correct and true of any book like Joseph Smith said. And if that's true, then everything built on it must be true as well. I don't know why all that seemed so amazing to me, that's what we tell investigators as part of the first lesson. But experiencing it right before my eyes this week as I did my personal studying and reading was an entirely different experience that sort of astounded me.
Autumn has finally arrived in California, the temperatures are under 90 most days, and in the mornings and evenings it is actually a little bit cold. Our walk to the gym in shorts and t-shirts is a good way to wake-up.
Dylan is progressing well. He wasn't able to come to church this week because he's had a fishing trip planned for months with some friends. But we did have a lesson with him and someone from the Elder's Quorum that went really well. We taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation, and it went really well. He kept commenting that it was a really good way to think about things, or that it all seemed to make sense. I guess it's true what people say that it will seem familiar or logical, even to those who have never heard it before. We have an appointment set up with him later this week, and hopefully we can start meeting twice a week so that we can teach everything and keep his baptismal date.
This week was a really good week, we stayed busy and focused for the most part, and we were able to get a lot done. One day we were walking around a neighborhood, and we had only talked to like 2 or 3 people after an hour which was sort of discouraging (I did see my first drug deal go down though. The joy of California :P). But as we were walking back to our car, we crossed paths with a lady who was walking her dog and she was really nice so we talked to her for a bit. When we told her we were missionaries, she said that she'd actually been thinking about going to church a couple days ago because she's going through some really hard times. So she gave us her phone number and address and we're hoping to go by and see her sometime this week.
We also were able to contact some referrals that members of our ward had given us. One of them mostly speaks Portuguese, so we'll have to take someone over there with us next time, but the ward told us that there are a lot of members who served missions in Brazil and could help us out. We also went by some neighbors of some members to talk to them, and while he was a little skeptical, he was nice and invited us back to talk more. Another member has some friends who are temporarily living with them and they've started to ask a few questions so we're hoping that they will start coming to church with them. None of those experiences alone were really all that amazing, but just having the opportunity to teach is so nice. When you don't have any investigators and you're just teaching less actives or members, you kind of lose your motivation because they already know it for the most part. But when you're teaching someone who is learning and changing and growing it is so much better.
Also this week we were helping a recent convert with some family history and I was just looking at my tree and reading some of the articles people had attached to various people. I was looking at the Woolf line, and I found something interesting. Remember reading Seabiscuit, and there was a jockey in there named George Woolf, or "Iceman"? Apparently his grandfather was Absalom Woolf, who is my great-great-great-great grandfather. His family is from Absalom's other wife, but he would have been cousins with my great-great grandfather. So that was a pretty cool tidbit I found that you might think was cool too.
See you soon,
Elder Cornaby
"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work." -Gordon B. Hinckley
Dylan is progressing well. He wasn't able to come to church this week because he's had a fishing trip planned for months with some friends. But we did have a lesson with him and someone from the Elder's Quorum that went really well. We taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation, and it went really well. He kept commenting that it was a really good way to think about things, or that it all seemed to make sense. I guess it's true what people say that it will seem familiar or logical, even to those who have never heard it before. We have an appointment set up with him later this week, and hopefully we can start meeting twice a week so that we can teach everything and keep his baptismal date.
This week was a really good week, we stayed busy and focused for the most part, and we were able to get a lot done. One day we were walking around a neighborhood, and we had only talked to like 2 or 3 people after an hour which was sort of discouraging (I did see my first drug deal go down though. The joy of California :P). But as we were walking back to our car, we crossed paths with a lady who was walking her dog and she was really nice so we talked to her for a bit. When we told her we were missionaries, she said that she'd actually been thinking about going to church a couple days ago because she's going through some really hard times. So she gave us her phone number and address and we're hoping to go by and see her sometime this week.
We also were able to contact some referrals that members of our ward had given us. One of them mostly speaks Portuguese, so we'll have to take someone over there with us next time, but the ward told us that there are a lot of members who served missions in Brazil and could help us out. We also went by some neighbors of some members to talk to them, and while he was a little skeptical, he was nice and invited us back to talk more. Another member has some friends who are temporarily living with them and they've started to ask a few questions so we're hoping that they will start coming to church with them. None of those experiences alone were really all that amazing, but just having the opportunity to teach is so nice. When you don't have any investigators and you're just teaching less actives or members, you kind of lose your motivation because they already know it for the most part. But when you're teaching someone who is learning and changing and growing it is so much better.
Also this week we were helping a recent convert with some family history and I was just looking at my tree and reading some of the articles people had attached to various people. I was looking at the Woolf line, and I found something interesting. Remember reading Seabiscuit, and there was a jockey in there named George Woolf, or "Iceman"? Apparently his grandfather was Absalom Woolf, who is my great-great-great-great grandfather. His family is from Absalom's other wife, but he would have been cousins with my great-great grandfather. So that was a pretty cool tidbit I found that you might think was cool too.
See you soon,
Elder Cornaby
"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work." -Gordon B. Hinckley