Monday Sept 29, 2014 - Studying, packing for Kirkcaldy, sports and having tea!

Hi Everybody as you all know I moved to Kirkcaldy Ward this week. My companion and I opened up in Leavenmouth this week and it has been several days of chaos, and Stress, But that is expected when Entering an area that none of you know anything about, Buses, opening a new flat, figuring out everything. It has been trying but it has been a learning experience none the least. This Work is Non- existent at the very moment right now but, As we get our barrings in order and Begin with our plan for our area Things are looking up for the Coming Week.

My studies this week, I focused on studying more in the Book Of Mormon, and Learning and application sections in Preach My Gospel, and have been trying to recall alot of my training area and what we did to further the work in Dublin.

I have been studying in Mosiah 16- 22, and have gained some valuable insights, one Of them was just how much we truly to covenant with Baptism and how we are held accountable to it. Also it showed me how much difficulties they went through when being in bondage to the Lamanites and the tactics and strength that had to occur For Limhi and his followers, and how instead of fighting all the time they used their brains and Once they had the lamanites coming against them again, They went forth among them with no weapons and the lamanites were pacified towards them and chose to return back to their land with their king. It also taught me to never judge, As the Lamanite King judged Limhi and his forces and went against them to war because he believed Limhi's people abducted their daughters, he attacked, and many of his forces were slain since the Nephites were protected and knew of the attacks. As we watch and Keep our armour and our defenses strong we will not fall to anything.

I also learned of the bondage and afflictions that had to be over King Limhi's people and because they were in bondage they turned to the Lord and he was slow to hear their prayers because of their iniquities but he did Begin to soften the hearts of the Lamanites to ease their burdens but the Lord did not see fit to deliver them. As we are in iniquity we fall short, but through the mercy of the Lord we can be forgiven and be aided but God is not used as a repairman, As we Maintain that relationship with him we strengthen us and everyone with us, and are closer to his help.

I was also studying Thessalonians 1-5: I learnt that we should be giving thanks continually in our prayers for everything that is given to us whether it be difficult or not.  We are also to strengthen our brethren who have fallen and have strayed or that have less faith then us. When we teach his word we are supposed to teach in a holy manner, we never want to decieve, or command others to do the things we want them to be doing.

In Preach My gospel I studied Chapter 9 and 13:  I learnt about just how important it is to use the members and strengthen them in this work. As we tract it isn't very effective because I know in my own life I wouldn't answer the door to someone knocking on my door, However as we build relationships with them and strengthen one another we become powerful.

My week this week was crazy, 

Monday we cleaned the flat and packed, Then had a family home evening which was really fun. Played some extreme table Tennis and hung out.

On Tuesday said goodbye to lots of people and had alot of appointments. Got to see some of the people I haven't seen in a while and got to say goodbye to alot of the members I have gotten really close with. Had a book of Mormon class and got to say bye to them as well. 

On Wednesday, We had P-day, I was in Dundee and we played Football, Basketball, and did some service there, We then Went out on Splits with Chinatown and came together to meet our companions. I picked up my companion at 8:30 and headed to the Zone Leader Flat. We Spent the night in Dundee and then Thursday we headed to open our new area

Thursday we had alot of things to do with trying to start up the area, Clean the flat, get food, Get all of our things, and get to know the bussing and the area. 

Friday We had coordination meeting and met everyone and did finding and organizing of our ideas and then we had a Ward activity where the members were learning a Scottish Dance called Strip the Willow, I took notes :P 

Saturday was a day of finding, and tried setting up appointments.

Sunday was a good day, We met alot of people, and got invited to a few places for Tea. Which is nice. We then went finding later in the day and Tried by a less active they werent in but 20 minutes later we got called to come for our Tea, which was nice. They were really nice. We also were invited for Dinner and got to know some of the members near us. It was a good Day.

Look forward to a busy week of finding and Relationship building love you all

Elder Reece Out

Live Long and prosper

- Elder James Reece

Monday Sept 22, 2014 - Whitewashing in Kirkcaldy! District meeting/lunch, castle visit and investigators

Hiya Everybody, As the title says I am moving to..... Kirkcaldy Ward

I will be quite sad to see Perth going, but it was for the best, The work is going well and I am excited to see what continues at this point in time. So apparently my new Companion according to my recent companion is from Ohio and has been out about 15-16 Months so that is exciting. We will be Whitewashing the area because we are opening it, so that is exciting. The Lord must see something in me that I don't see. 

Well So this week in Studies Read over more talks again,

I read Consecrated Missionary once again my Tad. R. Callister, since lately I've been slipping up a bit so to refocus my mind on obedience. 

There was a part talking about how you must be obedient in ALL that you do, which really hit me. If you want to be obedient, you have to be willing to obey all the rules, and as I was writing that the quote from Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration, came into my head. "Laws are meant to protect us, if you want to be free you need to be willing to live all of them, I'm sorry but you have to pay the fine"

This morning as well I was studying Becoming a Preach My Gospel missionary by David A Bednar- mission presidents seminar And in this talk it spoke alot about How we must listen and allow the spirit to take control. Listening is a crucial part in all we do, and in the talk it says that if we try to show off ourself and our abilities when teaching the gospel, it is as if we are in a form of priestcraft.

I did however get to prepare instruction Which Was Fun, to be able to instruct on Listening and how important it is when Teaching. I was feeling down for some reason early in the week but I am good now.

So this week was a good week, good instruction good studies.

I am going to be better at recording what I study in future posts okay.

So this week was fun

Monday we went into Dundee for Sister McKerry's last P-day, we ended up going to Broughty Ferry Beach and it had a castle as well which was loads of fun, played games on the beach walked in the ocean found a jellyfish, had a blast. Afterwards I wa son exchange with Elder shubin in dundee and we met some kool people, We talked to several people and good all around city centre and met a few chinese people which was Nice. It was a good exchange, 

Tuesday, We went to District Meeting, as I said earlier we all gave instruction to each other on our teaching skill we were assigned by Elder Patterson and me and him did Listening, It was good instruction. After that I was on exchange with Elder Liao, and because we had appointments we had to go fast to Lunch. We had a district Lunch at a place called City Harbour 6. 50 For all you can eat buffet, plus it was sister McKerry's last District meeting so we celebrated. After that Elder Liao and I came back to perth, and  had some good lessons with our investigators, Overall was good , we taught Ashleigh the Plan of Salvation, and she was excited about it and we read the Book of Mormon with Beth, Members. We signed each other's T- Books and chatted. 

Wednesday was our last day at British Heart, Well mine at least. I said goodbye to them all  not knowing I was leaving, we will be stopping in again to say bye today. Afterwards we met up for a teach but it didn't happen, then went out to Newburgh it was fun, we climbed a hill for our lunch break, then went to a less actives, there was no man available so we called bishop and he showed up which was amazing. Then got to have dinner with a cool family. We then had choir Practice and that was funny. Overall good day.

Thursday, we had a good lesson with William which was nice,  then we went out to McDonald's for lunch, Elder Patterson's card wasn't working so because their machine wouldn't accept his card he got free Lunch :P Talk about miracles. It was fun then for once we actually completed Weekly Planning on a Thursday :) Wahoo

Then We had a few more good lessons, and a young man came to teach with us which was fun then we were treated to dinner at a nepalese restaurant, It was delicious.

Friday Was a great day,

We had some Finding in the morning then went to see Eleanor and her friend was there so we shared Abide with me which was nice, got to say goodbye, Then went to see Beth and that was good as well, abit of confusion, but she is understanding

We then got to meet with Sam and have a testimony meeting, unfortunately he had to go back to Glasgow :( But he was awesome. We then got a lift out with friends  to our dinner appointment so we wouldn't have to bus it, and had a fun expeirence with the sat nav taking us the wrong way but it was fun, Then we went and brought Sam with us to see a musical created by People in dundee and it was a church musical called Catch the Vision, it was excellent, one of the members in our branch was in it so it was nice to support them. However we had to stay the night in Dundee with little money, but it was good.

The next day Aimee had a coffee Morning (No Cofffee) For cancer fundraising so we went to support her and alot of people form the church came, we ate cake, chatted, and strengthened relationships. It was a good day  We then had a day of finding, tracting and street contacting which was nice unfortunately no potentials yet but takes time :) 

Then yesterday, we got photos with the members in anticipation to moves calls, and I was the last one to recieve my moves call, which came at like 9:40.

And as you know I am whitewash opening a new area in Kirkcaldy, so that is exciting.

Love you All

Live Long and Prosper 

Elder Reece Out.

- Elder James Reece

Monday Sept 15, 2014 - A short but good one, with 4 pictures!!

This week has been incredible, To Start it off We were able to hit 11 joint teaches with a branch of about 30-40 active members so that is absolutely incredible to see the work that can happen.

As usual let's talk about the studies, all of a sudden my brain went blank, so bear with me.

I think I started off studying about prayer and revelation. Yeah I am quite sure that is what happened.

I was using True To the Faith, and looked at prayer and revelation and how to receive these things from the Lord so that was good. I received a lot of things I have received in the past but it is always good to know how to receive revelation and the different forms in which it can come.

Next I was reading the Book of Moses in Pearl of Great Price for zone interview training. We were asked to prepare a 10 minute talk without notes on how the fall created the need for the atonement. As I studied Moses, I found out more about the atonement, more about the fall and was able to understand better the stories of Moses.

I can't remember what else happened. My week though was fun

This week we had 11 joint teaches and had great lessons with all we taught, had a good time met some new people and saw some people we haven't seen much.

My brain is fried I apologize.

Next week will be better.

We are going into Dundee for P-day also so can't write too much

- Elder James Reece

Monday Sept 8, 2014 - As he says it - this week had sadness, annoyingness, miracles and joy!

So Hi everybody reading this,

You may ask how was your week and to be honest it had everything in it. It had sadness, it had annoying things, miracles, and joy. It has been a rollercoaster of a week. 

First though as always begin with studies. So this whole week I have been focusing intentively on Virtue I wanted to know what it was and how to gain it because I really enjoy in Doctrine and covenants 121 Where it says let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly" and I wasn't sure what it means to be quite honest, It is a hard topic. And virtue is used differently in different situations as well so it confused me. Well I studied Virtue and at our zone meeting we talked exactly about it, Virtue doesn't change by one decision however it is a compund of many small decisions which control the way you think, and I have been taught and in my studies have found alot that lately your thoughts depict what you do, So even if your actions are good but thoughts are bad your actions don't lead to virtue. It is all part of your thoughts, and I was trying to apply it to when you are changing a behaviour, Say for instance stop swearing. Well it is easy to just not say the word but the behaviour changes more when You change your thoughts so that the words don't even come too you. Interesting isn't it. I thought so, well my study took me into Sacredness, which then lead me to modesty. 

So when I studied Sacred, it referenced holy and purity which shows me that with virtue it gives unto us Pure and holy thoughts, which then with our virtue being pure gives way for us to recieve revelation. In Preach my gospel under Virtue in Chapter 6 It says that are minds are like a stage and there can only be one person in the spotlight at a time and if our minds are not fulll of wholesome thoughts well then the darkness droops in, but we are counseled to sing a hymn, memorize scriptures, Those kind of things to keep our thoughts virtueous.

So after Sacred I went to Modesty, and as I thought it would, it referred to our manner of dress, however the thoughts talked also about being modest in thought action and dress. Which I really liked because When we are modest in all of what we do then that is when Virtue can truly garnish all of our thoughts and actions and that we will be able to hold and use that unchanging scepter of righteousness promised to us in Doctrine and Covenants 121. Modesty was then used In true to the faith and that led to chastity and marriage, and then temptation and fasting which was interesting. I love how the church focuses so much on chastity and I can not remember the Verse it was but it talked in Moroni about I think the nephites taking the daughters of the Lamanites and taking that which was most precious unto them which was chastity and virtue. Which showed me just how important they are. We are commanded to be chaste so that our bodies and our thoughts don't control us, we are to control them and loss of chastity can lead to other things which can cause destruction , can alter relationships, cause for affection to be replaced, and it can harm your Virtue.  So I thought that was interesting.

That was my studies this week and now for my week.

So this week we had alot of stuff, We had alot of Dinner appointments which was nice but we also had alot of dropped appointments. Satan has been hitting our investigators all pretty hard this past week with health so it's been a struggle but eventhough we had alot of drops we were able to find a few people who we have started to meet with now who has NO belief at all in Jesus Christ and God but are curious to find out so that was a nice little miracle we experienced this week, One other thing that was kind of frustrating for both of us is that we had exchanges planned but all week our other team was sick so my companion scheduled the exchanges twice the past week and they had to cancel them so we don't have much time today because we are going to do them today. But this week has been a learning experience for sure.

I love all of you and 

Know that I know that God has a plan for each of us, he knows us and guides us in our lives. 

Check out Isaiah 42:16 I really enjoyed it.

Live long and prosper my friends

Elder Reece Out.

- Elder James Reece

Monday Sept 1, 2014 - Understanding pray, a special investigator passed away and his personal growth.

Hey Everyone,

I am excited to talk with you all this day, This week has been very trying and it has been difficult. There is no doubt about that.

Well let's first talk about my studies this week. 

I studied in Preach My gospel this week in Chapter 4: Recognizing the Holy Ghost. 

As I read through that section I discovered some things.

One thing I discovered was  that in order to be saved we need revelation. I thought that was interesting, that revelation is that important that it is necessary to be saved in the Kingdom of God. I also found interesting that REVELATION for ourselves is VITAL for each of us, because if we don't have revelation we are just going by what everyone else Says, but the only way to recieve truth is from God and his holy Spirit that testifies the truth of those things unto us.

I also learnt that Prayer is needed to have the Spirit and that the Spirit is needed in our prayers, which I thought was interesting. I thought before that we pray to ask for help, we pray for thanksgiving, but I didn't truly see how the Spirit actually guides our prayers and helps us if we hearken to it to align our will with God's. Prayer allows us to ask for things we need, ask for things for others, be thankful, become closer with our heavenly father but also to allow us to feel answers that come from him. 

When studying about how to recognize the Promptings of the Holy Ghost it states how we are to listen softly because the spirit will not shout or shake us with a heavy hand but it whispers to us and if we allow it to it will guide us. However in the world today there are so many things that deter this effect that take away from this guide and that dull your spirituality, Recently I have noticed that Satan doesn't pull you away but he does try to lead you away little by little, even if it is just staying abit longer at a dinner appointment, or taking abit longer getting ready, or starting your study a few minutes later. These little things give him power, and I don't know about you but I do not want to give him any power over me. But if you are not watching and praying often you will be led away. And to be honest in this area I have slacked off abit in my prayers, I used to pray several times a day and pray everytime an activity or location changed from what was planned or which was planned but here i have stopped doing that as much, So I know for myself I need to improve. Ask Yourselves how many times do I pray? Why Do I Pray? and then think about it, why are you praying, why are you reading your scriptures? 

Yesterday in Priesthood- Relief Society meeting our branch President Invited us to study the scriptures but he emphasized one important point which I would like to emphasize. And that was Why? Why do we do it? We should not be doing these things because we are told too, or it is expected of us, but we should be doing these things because we want to, we should be going to church to be changed and to become better. A month or so back we had a zone conference, and in that conference we talked about how our meetings should not be called meetings, but they should be revelatory experiences. We don't go just because it's what is expected, WE SHOULD BE CHANGING AS TO A RESULT OF WHAT IS LEARNED.

I also thought that one of the sections was interesting it is called A WORD OF CAUTION, which kind of made me scared abit and through reading it , it emphasized that not only should you pray for inspiration, but make sure to logically do it as well, confirm it with scriptures and teachings. For example a Primary president won't recieve inspiration to tell the Bishop how to do his responsiblilities. 

I thought that was interesting.

This quote as well from President James E. Faust "If worthy, we are entitled to recieve revelations for ourselves, parents for their children, and members of the church in their callings. But the right of revelation for others does not extend beyond our own stewardship."

That really helped me because some times I feel obligated to correct behaviour I don't deem fit from others, but It isn't my reponsibility to do so, maybe at one point it might be but right now I know that the only thing I can do is be an example of the believers.

I have also been studying in the New Testament and analysing Christ's teachings to work to become like him and this past week I just noticed some blessings and the way some of his questions are asked and how I can learn from them. I love the promises given in Matt19:29

"And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or Children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall recieve an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" I love the blessings." ALWAYS REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!

Now onto my week, this past week has been interesting, As you heard in my last message we had zone development on Monday and it was fun, I hurt my toe and after further examination, was happy to hear that it was just abit of soft tissue damage, I am so greatful for that, thought it was weird though because the doctor told me to walk normally eventhough it was very painful. So I did that. Tuesday we had a usual Tuesday, it was a good day but unfortunately in this week we had a few pretty big cancellations which hit us hard.We were able to have alot of good lessons this week and are giving some people abit of time at the moment to decide and to ponder about baptism, so that has been nice. Thursday we had a good lesson with an investigator, he has been doing very well and is progressing nicely, he is very humble which is nice to see , when you know his difficulties so that is a nice treat. He had a question though, with his accident after it alot of friends left and he was wondering why that was, so it is a great question, I Know that heavenly father gives us challenges to not only challenge and build us but also to test others.

We had two opportunities when we were on a bus talking where two people engaged us in conversation and asked us about our church and told us they see us alot, so that was a cool experience. And that is what happened this week.

One of the members that we visited each week and came to care about alot, ended up passing away this week, so that took a toll on Elder Patterson and I and it has been hard but I am so greatful to know that in God's Plan we can be with our families forever and see each other again. So greatful for temples and the eternal plan of Salvation. 

I know that this life is the life to prepare to meet God, and this life is the time to perform our labours and to make choices that will shape our eternal future. I know this church is true, I know more then ever that through hard times Jesus Christ has suffered through these as well and can succor you as well as you experience them, I am so greatful for my savior for all he has done for me, I am not perfect and I am far from it, I sin , I make mistakes but I try to be better but sometimes, tempations so easily beset me, and they cause me to grieve, but just like Nephi, I know in whom I trust and that is what keeps me going. 

I love you all and know that this GOSPEL is TRUE. I encourage all of you to strive to come to find this eternal truth out for yourself. 

Visit Mormon.org if you have any questions.

I Love You,

Peace be with you this day. Trust the Lord.

Live Long and Prosper,

Know that you all mean the world to me, and are in my prayers.

P. S If anyone has anything that they would like me to find out or are struggling with send me a message and I will do my best to learn about it for you.

Elder Reece Out.

 

- Elder James Reece