Faith in Christ is What It's All About

Hot. Hot. Hot.

Today is a boiling day. We played tennis this morning and I was dripping with sweat. I always hated the heat. I feel extremely lazy and beat down in it.

This week was a blur. The heat muddled up my mind, I guess. We delivered a Bible to a woman and her husband waaaaaaaay out in the boonies. We asked her if she'd like to hear a lesson about the restored gospel. She explained how her dad was her own pastor, and that their church building was a little white building in the field right next to her trailer. They took a Book of Mormon, though, and were very nice. As we left, we saw a large sign nailed to a tree that said, "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy." Her father sounded like a good, Christian man.

Sometimes in the church, we can look at other churches as not worthy, or something of that nature. It's an extreme way to put it, but essentially, that's how I have admittedly esteemed people of other religions. This experience added to an idea that I've been trying to adopt since I've been in the  South. After seeing this sign, along with other examples around me in the mission, it's become clearer to me that even though the Priesthood is essential to being sealed into heaven, there are still people that will receive wonderful rewards on Earth and in heaven just for being the best they can be. Faith in Christ is what it's all about. We gotta focus on the pearl instead of the beautiful box that holds the pearl, figuratively.

Transfers are next week. I'm most likely leaving, but we'll see. I'll go or stay wherever I need to.

Oh! Tonight we're going over to John, Jennifer and Creanne's to watch "Mountain of The Lord". They're excited to learn about temples, and that movie does it better than anything I've seen.

For the Fourth, we went to the nursing home that Jennifer works at. They had free food and a live band. A clogging team came by a bit later. The fireworks show was fantastic. We were so close that everyone got covered in cardboard pieces and dust. After that fireworks show, the city had another show down by the Black River. We could see the fireworks from the nursing home since it was up on a hill.

Well...my brain is fried from heat. We have some more things to do today, but it's going to be a good day nonetheless. I hope everyone is having a fun summer!

-Elder Staib