Mind Blown

Wed, Jul 29, 2015

Wut da?

To all the Mormons in the place with style and grace, 

Pioneer Day was this last week. The missionaries in conjunction with our Ward Mission Leader planned an epic ward party to celebrate the glorious little brother of the Fourth of July. We have been planning this thing for almost three months now.  We had it set up like a county fair, which I've actually never been to but apparently they are a big thing out west? There was food out the wazoo, competitions for a chance to win a blue ribbon, games for the kids, square dances and performances, and then to end it we had certain members from the ward tell their conversion story and tell how they were pioneers in their own life. Highlights from this:

-Tons of members showed which is a big deal here. 

-There was a solid number of less actives and investigators there. Great for fellowshipping. 

-They played Michael Jackson over the speakers :)

-The arm wrestling competition. They made me and my companion Elder Wallace duke it out. It was the most intense arm wrestling match I've ever been apart of. It was in front of the whole Ward. People were yelling, biceps were almost tearing, I think I heard someone swearing. Just kidding about that last one. It was a close match. Elder Wallace won.... But it's ok cuz he is from a small town in Idaho. They are bred for that kind of stuff. I have no shame. 

Arm Wrestling Competition for the Ages.
Moments before my companion embarrassed me.

-I won the blue ribbon for the best photo! 

The photo that won the blue ribbon. 
Johanson's get ribbons. That's just what we do.

-The young men and the missionaries performed the Haka. We have an Elder here named Elder Pulu who is Tongan so he taught us. It was cray. Call me that one kid from Forever Strong. 

Shot Calls are coming up this Saturday. I'm guessing I might be out of here but you never know. I have come to like change as a missionary, it keeps me on my toes. At the same time the work here is incredible. There are some great people here. It would be hard to say goodbye if I am transferred elsewhere. I will give you the juicy details next week. 

In district meeting this Monday, I had the blessing and privilege of attending the Spanish district’s district meeting. It was on prayer. We read through the talk "Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer” by Elder Richard G. Scott. I've studied this talk multiple times before but something about reading it this time around blew my mind. Right off the bat, he says, "Prayer is a supernal gift of our Father in Heaven to every soul." We talked about the definition of the word "Supernal" and it means "relating to the heavens or celestial". 

Dood. If prayer is a celestial gift and we know that God dwells in the Celestial Kingdom then we know that prayer is our link between this Earth life and the potentially eventual Celestial home we can have. If it is a gift from God then that also means that He didn't have to give us prayer. He chose to so we could receive guidance and aid. Can you imagine how much more difficult life on Earth would be if we couldn't communicate with our Father? God could have given us tough love and been like, "Hey niños, I'm gonna send you to Earth. I'm not going to let you talk with me and ask for help but don't worry you will get the hang of it." But no, He didn't do that. He prepared prayer before the foundations of the world to be used as an aid to us. Prayer is our tool for understanding eternity. The thought of prayer blew my mind that day. 

"He has created numberless cosmos and populated them with worlds, yet you and I can talk with Him personally, and He will ever answer." -Elder Scott

You guys rock. 

Elder Tyler J Johanson

Am I hardcore yet?