What do Weed, Polygamists, and Old People all have in common? -- 31 March 2014

Creston, BC.

Hello my dear and wonderful friends and family! I know you all know that I'm no longer in the mission office. Do you know that I'm all the way in the bottom lefthand corner of the mission? It's unbelievably beautiful out here. It makes me want to wipe the dust off of my camera (sorry mom) and take some photos.

We're here to work. We've already seen a few miracles, the first one just happened on my second day in the area. You see, they just called a new bishop and new ward mission leader. This is good news in just about every case, because it means their hearts are open. The Lord has a way of doing that. So we sat down with them in their first coordination meeting and our WML was suggesting he would really like at least 15 minutes in ward council to discuss the needs of the people we're working with. The bishop, cuts in and responds, "I'll gladly give you 15 minutes, and I anticipate it will take even longer as it get's going, even up to 30 or more, because that's what ward council is really about."

I literally began tearing up. He knows. He gets what it's actually for. The reality of it all was incredible. They asked me if I was okay, and I just nodded my head. Holy cow, the Spirit rushed into the room like a Porche 918 Spyder (saw it on the cover of a magazine today, it looks fast ;)) as we discussed how we were going to proceed with the Ward Mission Plan.

So, our ward mission leader has kept us honest and busy, both with administrative tasks as well as regular teaching and work. Elder K and I have had to practice planning and prioritizing. The good news about all of it is that it just makes you feel so good. I have already begun to feel closer to my Father in Heaven. I've also really struggled adjusting to being a follower, instead of a leader. I wouldn't say it's been hard to swallow that pill, because I'm really grateful for it, but it has certainly been difficult to remember what is and is not my responsibility. The load of regular missionary labors seems very light now compared to what I was doing before, and I'm very grateful for how the Lord is helping me to progress.

Elder K is amazing! He laughs all the time, even at my stupid jokes and just has a great way of helping people just feel like they are loved. He works hard and isn't afraid to do what the Lord wants done. He is teaching me a lot about being a better missionary and consecrating myself to the Lord. I really hope I can keep up.

Well, I've rambled on a lot, but I do have just one more thing (uhoh... here it comes).

Many of you are probably aware of the event in American History known as the "Shot Heard Around the World." I haven't taken a history class in an awfully long time and I don't really have the ability to look it up, but basically (if I remember correctly) there was a little bit of contention going on between the British Soldiers and the American colonists just before the breaking out of the revolutionary war. Tension was high. When, after an encounter with the Soldiers on a night in the street, a shot was fired. That noise was later coined by emerson(?) as the Shot Heard Around the World because it sparked the British Military into action (who at the time were stationed around the world) and was the spark which ignited the gunpowder that was the American revolution.

Well, Elder Hill, what is this about?

This is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone was bearing their testimony in church yesterday and they quoted "The Standard of Truth." and reminded me of this phrase. The appearance of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ to the boy Joseph was a shot that would be heard around the world. As was President Monson's announcement just a year and a half ago (can you believe it's been that long?). There are moments in history that mark the turning point of a nation, a people, or a soul. Those, "Shots" are all brought by our Father in Heaven to make us like our Father in Heaven.

This work---missionary work, the work of salvation, conversion, inviting others to come unto christ---call it what you will, is the shot that we give everyone who will hear. It is being spread throughout the world, and it is meant to change our lives. So, my dear friends. Give it a chance. There is a war raging around us, in us, and by us. We have neighbors, friends, brothers and sisters who need the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they may never accept it if we don't open our mouths and honestly seek to give them a chance for change. Be the shot. Be that change. After all, "The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

I love you all. Don't be afraid.

Elder Hill

Transfer Week... -- 21 March 2014

...and I'm no longer AP.

I know, weird right? Or at least, by the time this transfer is finished I won't be. 

I've been pondering a lot lately. Just about life, the family, the mission, the work. I suppose it's strange to be transitioning from this position to another again... I suppose you become so much a part of the things that you are asked to do that it becomes difficult to change, but as I've been indexing my mission in my mind I've found that those have been the times of greatest growth. I think of the power of change....

So many people are terrified of change. I was with the Sister missionaries that serve in our ward the other day and one of them was expressing just how much she hates transfers. To be honest, I've felt the same way... sometimes for different reasons than her, but how can you blame her for fearing the unknown? Truthfully, as I've been an assistant I've realized the power of transfers, and the gratitude I've had for each and every single one of them. Also, the only regrets that I've had regarding transfers have been caused by my own pride, imperfection, and stubborn attitudes toward them. Thus proving to me that my personal growth is a personal choice, a choice I make every day the moment I wake up. I think we are all the authors of our own destiny, ultimately. God's power and wisdom and plan is frankly so infinite and so perfect that we have to choose to succeed, just as we have to choose to fail. 

That is the reality of my whole mission, that this life is a series of choices. Choices that affect our destiny, our attitude, our hopes, and our personal peace and righteousness. And the atonement of Jesus Christ is the motivating factor for all the positive, the power by which we are enabled to obtain it all, and the means by which we overcome the effects of our poor choices. We are limited by our choices, or we are set free by them. Thus we begin to see and understand that our decisions to break God's laws stop us from reaching Him not because he doesn't love us enough to look past them, but because if we would never choose to follow him, we would never choose to be with him. Decisions to keep his laws give us ultimate freedom, freedom in relationships with others, power to be an influence in the lives of those we choose to love, and liberty to begin to liberate ourselves from the captivity of our sins which keep us from reaching fully to him---all, again, by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

So what have I learned as assistant? I've learned that we are simply assigned to these positions to foster our own personal growth---all in God's confidence that you won't get in His way of making happen what He needs to have happen. It's an assignment of sacred trust. To minister, to believe, to administer, and to choose to stand personally taller, and to be better than you have ever been before. It is an opportunity to choose to follow Him more closely, to put off the Natural Man and become a saint through the Lord Jesus Christ... and it will all happen according to your attitude toward it, toward others, and toward Him. 

In the meantime we'll be having a baptism next Saturday. I believe I will be transferred to Creston, BC. It is in the bottom lefthand corner of our mission and is almost the farthest away from the mission home I'll be... probably. And you know what? I'm ready. I'm ready for change. I'm ready for growth. I'm ready to just give it all up and put everything that I've learned for the past 20 months into effect... I'm ready to feel the hand of my Savior urging me forward toward those who need our help. I hope He will fill me... and in the same breath I hope I will be hungry. More hungry than I've ever been for Him and His work and His word. I pray He will make me feel so uncomfortable that I will turn to him in every moment, and that my faith will be strong enough to press forward through it all. I hope he will guide my work and my tongue. I want to be used, to give my all, and to never look back wondering if I was able to give it my all. 

This was a long email and I've just gone nuts in it, but what I know is nevertheless true. That Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That I have been called to Serve Him. My Heavenly King of Glory. Chosen Heir to Witness for His name. Far and Wide I tell my Father's Story, and Far and Wide His love I proclaim.

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is restored. Joseph Smith was his chosen prophet in the latter days. Speaking of which:

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. ^aCourage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! 

I love you all. Peace, love, and temple marriage. In that order!

Elder Taylor J. Hill

Canada Calgary Mission

Captain of the Host of Israel -- 3 March 2014

I came across a wonderful story in the Scriptures the other day. In Joshua 5.

Joshua had just arrived at Jericho when suddenly:

and, behold, there stood a ^aman over against him with his sword drawn in his hand

So, naturally, what do you do when you see a guy staring at you with a sword in his hand?

and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

Naturally, you walk up to him and ask him which army he's in. He responds

And he said, Nay

In other words, "I'm not a member of any army."

but as captain of the ^ahost of the Lord am I now come.

Wait... what? 

but as captain of the ^ahost of the Lord am I now come.

In other words, "My name is Jehovah, and I'm here to lead you to victory."

Remember a few weeks ago when we talked about believing Christ? Trusting him that He would fulfill His promises. Well, Joshua marches up to Jericho, and who's standing there with a sword, ready to "fight his battles for you"? Christ. It was really cool to find scriptural evidence of Christ really being there for us. Not just in a "sit back and watch you work and give you some help every once in awhile" kind of way. But in an active way. Dressing up, grabbing his sword,  and working. Christ makes all the difference.

p.s. Wouldn't it be so cool to see Christ ready for battle? We always picture him in a robe, the sword image made Him that much cooler. 

This week was good. Zone conferences finished up... And that's pretty much what we did this week.

Anyway, this one was really fast and sloppy.

Peace, love, and temple marriage. In that order!

Elder Hill