Framework

This week. What did we do? Well. We had a mission leader council, and we also had a zone conference. Elder Boom came. He's from the area seventy, (he's also a Nederlander). It was so great. I learned a lot from him. He shared the story of his mission (along with other things) and taught by the example he showed in those stories...really enjoyed it

Still very warm weather here. In the 20's meestal

GUESS what??? The soccer world cup is going on right now. And Nederland played their first game this last Friday. Against Spain. 4 years ago they lost the final match to Spain (in overtime, it was really close). This year Nederland played with a vengeance and beat them 5-1. I was ecstatic. Everyone here is sooo happy. You ought to watch the game. I hear it was great. :D

Anyways,
I have been thinking for a while now about conversion. As I have, I've also thought about how hard it is for people to become converted. I have also wondered what it is that causes people to doubt, and not believe...

Now that all my wonderings are out on the table:

I talked before about that trust you must have, on the witness that you receive from the Spirit. That trust governs the way you act. 

Once you have received that witness you have one of three options. 1. You continue to trust it and live by it. 2 you still trust it, but you don't live accordingly. 3 you choose to no longer believe it so therefore you no longer follow it.
Dad told me once about (and I forget exactly what it's called) that people need to have a peace of mind. If you believe something to be true then you have to live accordingly. If you don't, then you will feel uncomfortable, guilty, depressed, and unsure. 
When that happens people reach a fork in the road. They can choose to change the way they Act, or they change the way they Believe.

The easier way is to change beliefs. Because then we can still do what we want to. It takes more effort and discipline to change one’s actions. And if you don't have a good reason of why you need to change your actions, then you probably won't.

I know I myself have been caught in that paradox. I have found myself doing things/acting in a way that I wanted to, but when I really thought about it, wasn't in line with what I believed. 
I would get frustrated. I tried to change my belief without really changing them. Just like twisting them. But then they weren't logical anymore. 
I tried to ignore what I believed, shove it away. But always was that thought in the back of my mind. I never really felt comfortable or at peace.

That's when I would come to the point, where I'm sick of the cycle. I had to decide, what I actually SHOULD do. What was best for me? Even though, what I wanted to do was enjoyable, or it was what everyone else did, or even what I thought I deserved to do.
Did that make it right?

If we believe that this life is not all there is, that our choices and actions here have a lasting impact on our well being, then we can not afford to just do things just cause we want to. We should do things because we know it is right.

That doesn't mean that we can't make any decision without having an internal crisis each time. But to me, it means that we should take the time to think about the things we are doing currently and consider how they align with what we believe to be right.

Elder Bednar says that conversion is consistently living what we know to be true. This process is to me, the beginnings of one's personal conversion.

I love you all. Have a great week!
Elder Chantry