Elder Bryce Young Letter #54, week 54 (Reno, NV) 3-10-14 Dear Family, It was a rather strange week, last week. It went by fast, and it seemed like we did not accomplish as much as we wanted to. Yet, it was still a good week for teaching and finding people. As we are getting closer to the baptismal dates of those individuals that we are teaching, some are starting to fall away. On the other hand, some great things are happening for the few that are holding firmly to the word of God. We should still have baptisms on the 22nd and 29th, but it is a tough process to go through. Fortunately, Heavenly Father always prepares a way for His work to be accomplished if we just act in faith. I suppose the week started off a little rocky. We played volleyball on P-day and I was very excited. I was excited to the point of letting competitiveness enter into my heart, and that was tough to shake for a couple of days. Being that we are imperfect, it can seem fun to compare and contrast with or against others. In sports, this can come out heavily. It can even drive one to feelings of anger or sorrow. Needless to say, it happens to the best of us... and the worst in my case. Therefore, I see it necessary to once again bring up the Christlike attribute of charity - the essential characteristic of success. If you desire to have your actions to never fail, charity needs to be attained. It is only when you selflessly work for the benefit of others - under the guidance of your loving Father in Heaven - that your actions actually make a positive difference in the world. For instance, the young men in the ward had the big, annual basketball tournament against all of the other wards in our stake (ward meaning congregation as established by those who live within specified area boundaries - ie Cranberry Ward, Pittsburgh Ward, etc). Some of the players for our ward happened to be more talented than others. Although this was the case, the team made sure that everyone received their equal playing time. In fact, nobody complained about not being played in the game longer - not even the more talented players. The performed as any young men in our church should - with the desire for the benefit of others in their hearts. There was only one team in the entire stake (group of wards) that could beat them, and they had lost to them previously before the championship. Thus, they played against this good team and continued to make sure that all of the players had their fair share of playing. Unfortunately, they lost. It was because the other team hardly rotated their more talented players out of the game that they were able to win - in the eyes of the world, that is. You have to ask yourself, who were the real winners in this scenario? The team that played as a selfless team, or the team that won at the cost of not playing teenagers who deserved to be out on the court the same amount of time as anyone else? Well, if you consider the team of God, you would reconsider just focusing on the points of the scoreboard. Rather, you would see the need of charity, authority, obedience, faith, and all of the other attributes of Christ being thrown into the games. Christ said himself that not everyone that cries Lord, Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven - it is for those that do the will of the Father. It is charity that separates the good from the bad. It is charity that allows one to know when a miracle is performed by God, and they are not being deceived by the adversary. Brother Norton brought up a good quote, that I will indirectly state, Some wins are losses, and some losses are wins. In this situation, the young men of the Truckee River Ward are the real winners. They will enjoy chicken dinners. Let us all focus our hearts on the things that matter in life. I promise that anyone that does will find more joy in this life and the life to come. I leave that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Love, Elder Bryce B. Young
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 03:14:46 +0000
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