October 24th, 2016 Burley, ID

It looks like Elder Towers made it through transfers without transfering anywhere. He'll be in Burlery for awhile longer.  
Now, go ahead and read this letter. I have a few thoughts that I'm adding at the bottom of the page. He seems to be venting...at whom exactly? That remains a mystery.

"Righteous Indigation"

So... I got asked out this week... I will spare the details for the sake of keeping the Spirit in this email, but she was very drunk, thought I was really attractive, and invited me to a certain gentile establishment that I will not name... Anyways.

I've been studying a lot about faith recently. There are SOOO many people that have such a misconstrued idea of what it is and how it is different from a belief in God. Due to this, I will be using the Bible to prove my points, as this is the book of scripture that these individuals claim to read and believe in.

Scripture Numero Uno: James 2:14-18

It's pretty clear. You can't misunderstand this concept, only ignore it. Faith without works is dead. I don't need to elaborate this very much. Do you really have faith if you don't follow Christ and His commandments? Of course not. You are mocking the whole idea of Christianity and falsely bearing Christ's name. Sorry, that's just how it is.

#2: James 2:19-20

If that didn't hit it home quite yet, read these verses. Essentially, it is saying, "Oh, you believe that God exists? Awesome! Good for you! So do the devils, and they tremble before God. So what are you doing?" This isn't the Book of Mormon, or the "Mormon Bible," as many call it. This is straight out of the very book that all of Christianity readily accepts as true doctrine. 

#3: Matthew 7:21-23

Even Jesus Christ himself has stated this very clearly. I don't need to elaborate this one really at all. Who can say it better than Christ himself?

#4: Bible Dictionary - Faith, paragraph 3

For those that do not have the LDS edition of the Bible that contains the Bible dictionary, I'll quote some important parts here. "Faith is a principle of action ... Faith in Jesus Christ ... is more than just belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of fulfillment of the things hoped for."  This makes perfect sense. If you truly have a belief in God and in the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, then why wouldn't you be acting on it? If it really is true, and you know it, then wouldn't you be condemning yourself as a slothful, wicked and unprofitable servant? Wouldn't it have been better for you to remain in your ignorance and not believe, and be less accountable for your sins come judgement day?

#5: James 1:22

I have to wrap things up pretty soon, and I think this is a good concluding statement. If you are realizing that you need to act on your faith more than you have been, then do it. Be a "doer" of the word of God. Do all that Christ has asked us to do. These aren't suggestions, these are commandments. It doesn't matter how old or "archaic" you think they are, God still commanded you to follow them. What's your excuse?

I don't mean to be rude to those that believe otherwise. I'm just calling this common hypocritical belief in the hope that maybe you can make the changes in your life necessary to receive exaltation with God and their families. It is "righteous indignation," you know, like when Jesus flipped the tables at the temple. All out of love! :-)

I made it through my first transfer, and it couldn't have been better! I'm staying with Elder Murphy in Burley, so not much will be changing. Also, the occasional written letter is nice, too! I love you all. I have less than a minute left to email so I am going to have to close now.

-- 

Elder Towers

I have a few things that I considered while reading this letter and I'll bullet point them to help me organize my thoughts better.

* Landon is an 18 year old boy who has probably never been challenged on his personal beliefs as aggressively as most full-time missionaries typically are. There is a learning curve here that he's going through.

* I don't know if he is being challenged by a friend who is writing, or maybe investigators that he is teaching.

* I love that he is using the Bible as points of reference to "prove his points"...yes, as Mormons, we actively use and believe in the Old and New Testament as the word of God.

* I understand his frustration, and so I get that he has something to prove. When you realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the reason for everything, and that it is meant for everyone, you can't help but be frustrated at the amount of rejection and accusations thrown at you.

* I love that he is trying SO HARD. Having said that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can't be taught by proof. That's already been done by Jesus Christ himself performing miracles, with many more miracles happening around us every day...and yet there are still many non-believers. The Gospel must be witnessed by the Spirit. It is felt. It is an undeniable witness by the Holy Ghost that what you have read...or studied...or seen or heard...or prayed about...is real. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are priceless tools and witnesses themselves to all of this. It is all real.

* The Gospel is felt through love. The Spirit cannot live with contention...or cannot bear witness during a battle of the bibles. Elder Towers has the doctrine down. And ironically, he's preaching about "Faith"...which is something that you can't see or touch....it's not proven through scripture. Faith is taught through scripture, but proven through the Spirit.

He's convicted, that's for sure! And I hope that his delivery is given with as much love and compassion as his body of proof. I believe all he has said above to be true. I hope that my actions speak volumes about my belief and about my faith, just as Elder Towers has illustrated.  

Thanks so much for taking the time to read Elder Towers latest!

October 17th, 2016 Burley, ID

It's been a little while since I posted a letter from Elder Towers. Realistically speaking, they have been a little light...kind of short and not much in way of news. Today was different! We can really see some growth...both in maturity and spirituality. This young man of ours loves what he's doing and he's doing it well. We were thrilled to get this email today. Enjoy!

Howdy!

Yesterday was amazing. Even though we spent 7 hours at Church between meetings, Sacrament, and classes (I only fell asleep during the last class!), it was extremely fulfilling. Even though it rained all last night and Elder Murphy and I got wet (CTR's waterproof clothing is a scam), we were still joyful and singing as we rode our bikes in the cold, dark rain through a country road to see people that didn't even show up. It reminded me of the talks given in General Conference on joy, and while my experience isn't quite as drastic or bleak, I can testify that those speakers were testifying truth.

We have had a pretty neat missionary opportunity recently. A random guy drove up next to us the other week and told us, "Go bother that house, they just moved in." So we did. Without even introducing ourselves yet, they invited us in. We began to teach, and they intently listened. As it turns out, the man was an excommunicated member who had strong desires to change and be re-baptized, and his wife was not a member, but had a strong desire to learn about the Gospel. The lessons went great, and the Spirit was strong! Not only that, but they came to Church this week, and absolutely loved it! Even though the children are louder and run wilder than any ward I have ever been in, they still felt the Spirit, and the whole ward swarmed in an helped them feel welcomed and fellow shipped. One of the speakers even thanked them for coming while up on the pulpit! It almost could not have been any more perfect, and I am so grateful that God trusted me with this golden opportunity to serve Him and His children. I will keep you all updated on their progression!

I absolutely love reading the scriptures. Not going to lie, before my mission, it was a chore to me. I got bored, and often fell asleep while reading. Honestly, I don't even see how that was possible anymore. No matter how tired, aching, hungry, etc I am, I never get bored or fall asleep during my studies anymore! In fact, the brief hour of personal study in the morning seems to fly by in a matter of minutes, and I try to finish planning each night efficiently so that I can get some extra studies in before curfew! There are so many wonderful things contained in the scriptures, and I'm glad that this mission could spark my interest and motivation enough to realize that.

Here's a little bit of what I studied this week. I decided to find references in the Bible that prophesy of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration in order to increase my testimony of those things.

Ezekiel 37:16-17

With the understanding that a "stick" is a wooden tablet that records were written on, read these scriptures. The stick of Judah, or the writings of the tribe of Judah (the Jews), would come forth into the world and testify of Christ. This is the Bible. The stick of Ephraim, or the writings of the descendants of Ephraim (Lehi was such a descendant, as well as the other tribes that are documented in the Book of Mormon), would also come forth and testify of Christ. Together, they would join together to become a powerful and complete witness of our God and of Christ, and "they shall become one in thy hand." I am humbled and thankful to know that the very books of scripture described in the Old Testament are currently sitting on the desk next to me.

Isaiah 29: 9-12

Although this may be in Isaiah, notorious for being hard to understand and interpret, this passage is pretty clear to those who understand and have studied the Restoration. Verses 9 and 10 refer to the Great Apostasy following Christ's death, which many people don't seem to believe happened as fully as it did. However, my favorite part is verses 11 and 12, which prophesy of a sealed book of scripture that even the most well educated historians would not be able to decipher or read. Yet, when delivered to a humble man without an educated background, God would provide a way that he may translate it. If you don't recall this prophecy being fulfilled, read Joseph Smith History verses 59 through 65.

There are many other scriptures that further witness of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our latter day, but I decided that I would share just these two to keep things relatively brief. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Church, these scriptures, and everything associated with it are true. Joseph Smith, only 17 when he translated the Book of Mormon in a mere 2 months, truly was called of God to restore the Church, and because of that, we now have modern day prophets on the earth today. How blessed are we to have been chosen and foreordained to come down in this latter day! How great is our calling to serve Him and further the work of the ministry!

Anyways, I love you all and I love my mission! I honestly can't believe I am almost done with a full transfer, time is flying by already!

I didn't reserve any time for personal emails this week, sorry everyone!

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Elder Towers