Elder Bednar..........

Hey Madre!

Well, first off thanks for the letter, I sure appreciated it. Wise counsel from the matriarch of the family.

So. Mom. ELDER BEDNAR WAS INCREDIBLE. I don't think I have ever felt the Spirit more strongly. He just taught by the Spirit. The first thing he told us was to not write anything that was said over the pulpit, and to only write down things that we learn from the holy ghost. It was cool, he did a big Q and A with us and then we got to do a Q and A with him. Funny thing is he actually lived in Lubbock for a while, he taught at Tech. Most of all, it really just was a testimony to me that this church is lead by prophets, true prophets of God. No one else has that. I will copy some notes for you, but if you really want to get something out of it, he based his remarks off of 3 of his talks, Ask in Faith, Converted unto the Lord, and Learning by Faith. Study those 3 and tell me what you thought (:

So, I can't remember if I had told you about Alec, the 9 year old part member family, but his baptism was this Saturday. It was pretty awesome. Great to see how the gospel bring families together once again.

I sure love you Mom, and I hope you have a fantastic week. Let me know what you thought about those talks (: Love you!

A sister missionary shares her honest thoughts about serving a mission..........

Click on the link below to read a blog post I came across that sums up what I experienced as a missionary as well.  My mission wasn't the best 18 months of my life, but definitely the best 18 months FOR my life, as it became pivotal in every choice I made from that point on.

Sand and Sunshine: The Honest Truth About Missions: "So are you getting paid to do this?" "Nope" "Are you getting some kind of school credit?" &...

Hastening the Work.......

(I forgot to post this letter from Cody)

Friends and Family,

I am so sorry about how long this has taken to write this; despite my best efforts to slow down a bit and smell the roses the work still seems to be moving even faster.  The paradox that states the days feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days is definitely true about missionary work.

Roswell has been treating me well.  A few months ago the stake here fasted for rain, and now I think we will have to fast for it to stop.  Roswell has received more rain this year than in the past 10!!  Some of the crops have started to rot and the mud is horrendous, but it has provided a lot of great service opportunities for us, so hey, the Lord works in mysterious ways.

Every new area and every new transfer I learn something different, and for these past couple months I have learned a lot about our purpose in this work.  “Hasten the work of salvation” has become the new rally call for the church, it looks good on missionary plaques and Relief Society chalkboards, but what does it really mean? 

Look up the word “hasten” in the index at the back of your scriptures (seriously do it, don’t take my word for it J).  What do you see?  Skim through the scriptural references it lists.  What do you notice about them all?  The word “hasten” seems to be portrayed as a negative thing in all of the scriptures, except for one passage, Doctrine & Covenants 88:73.

“Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.”

We learn two valuable lessons there.  First, whose work is it?  It is His, the Lord’s, and no one else.   Second, and most importantly, who will do the hastening?  “I will”, the Lord, not us.  We are not hastening the work of salvation, only He can do that, and He is doing it now, now is the time.  So, if we aren’t hasteners, what are we?  What is our purpose?  We read in the following verse of D&C 88….

“Assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean”.

That is the purpose.  The hastening is happening, we don’t have to worry about that, the Lord has that taken care of.  We are to prepare and sanctify ourselves so that we can keep up with the hastening.  We should be constantly asking the Lord what we can do to help Him in His work.

Whether that’s through Ward Council, Family History work, Home and Visiting Teaching, or a full-time mission, there are so many things in the church that we can help hasten.

Remember whose work it is and who is hastening it.  Think of at least one thing you can do in your own life, something you can hasten, and then be prepared to keep up with the Lord’s work.  Don’t delay, it’s getting late!

I am so very grateful for this work, especially what its done for me.  Thank you for your prayers, I really can feel them.  Never be complacent, and always ask the Lord what you can do more to keep up with the pace.  All is well.

Love,

Elder Cody Backus

The Work continues..............

Hey Momma,

Haha you saw the tree pictures huh? There is a recent convert who needed his tree taken down, and so we volunteered our service with some of the young men...we took that whole thing down with a hand saw haha it was pretty fun.

Elder Barnes is spanish speaking.

I did get the razors, thank you so much! I am not sure yet how I like them, but I will keep you posted, thank you (:

We just have 3 hours with Elder Bednar, so we will drive in Friday morning and head back Friday evening. He actually asked that we don't take any pictures to distract the Spirit...haha!

Bobby and Charmayne's baptism was great. They had a lot of family come and support, it was incredible. They both were confirmed yesterday and Bobby received the Aaronic Priesthood. Great family.

Things are going pretty good Mom!

I love you Mom, thanks for your support. You are the greatest. Have an awesome week!

Love, Elder Cody

Pic of Bobby and his wife Eudora. Eudora is a life-long member

Pic of Bobby's stepdaughter, Charmayne.

Thoughts on the importance of the Sacrament.......

Dear family & friends,

Growing up in the Church, I have always been taught that our Sabbath day meetings are meant to be peaceful, uplifting, reflective and a time of personal serenity.  However, with kids kicking and screaming, ward members speaking over the pulpit with monotone voices, and the fear of Brother High Priest mentioning Kolob or the curse of Cain to one of our investigators, very seldom do I find myself spiritually recharged and more “fully unspotted from the world” (D&C 59:9).  “True to the Faith” states that our meetings should be a “source of strength” (p. 148).  So what am I missing?

In the 27^th chapter of Matthew we read of two Jewish prisoners.  The first, Barabbas, had been guilty of sedition and murder, clear and severe offenses to the Jewish law.  Under that same law Barabbas’ fate was set; he was to be put to death.  The second prisoner, Jesus, had been accused with high treason, but after examination by both Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, had been found innocent of such a charge.

During the Feast of the Passover, in which we find ourselves in this chapter, it was custom for the governor (at this time Pontius Pilate) to release one prisoner according to his wish.  After comparing the two candidates the answer was simple; Jesus Christ was undoubtedly innocent and therefore would be released. (27:20)  “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus” (27:20).  “Pilate saith unto them, what shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” (27:22), “They all said unto him, Let him be crucified”(27:23).  “And the governor said, why, what evil hath he done?  But they cried out the more, saying, let him be crucified.” (27:26) “Then released he Barabbas unto them, and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified”.  Against all justice and logic, the guilty prisoner was set free and the innocent Son of God was sent to die.

Amidst the squirmy toddlers and uncomfortable fold up chairs, this account is replayed every week of our lives in our sacrament meetings.  Each one of us through the week, break the commandments of God.  Each Sunday we stand before the Sacrament altar, ready to sacrifice ourselves because we know that we are guilty and must therefore receive the punishment, which is spiritual death.  But as we begin to climb on the altar, the innocent Son of God grabs us, and then, with his merciful and ever-loving countenance, tells us that he will take our place this week.  He will suffer the punishment for us.  He then climbs upon the altar himself, and his body is broken, and as we partake of his flesh and blood we promise to try and take his place this week too.  We, guilty prisoners of sin, are then, like Barabbas, set free.

When we truly understand and look forward to the sacredness and importance of the Sacrament, no matter what, we can guarantee ourselves a spiritually renewing experience at church.  I know that His Atonement was and is perfect as much as it is real, and my hope is that we can utilize it more in our lives by truly appreciating the Sacrament.

Love,

Elder Backus

Cowboys & Aliens.........

Hey guys!!!!

Things are going pretty darn well here in Roswell. This last week was COLD, and we actually got a couple inches of snow. Haha it really kills the whole fearless defender of the faith spirit, but you just have to push through it I guess (:

Bobby and Charmagne (Father and Step daughter) are getting baptized this Saturday at 1pm. They are awesome, they are Najavo Indian. We found them by trying a old media referall, pretty crazy how the Lord fulfills his purposes! Elder Barnes and I are really excited, I will be sure to take some pictures.

Other than that, things are just moving on smoothly! We are all pretty excited for Elder Bednar to come in a couple weeks, its pretty rare that a mission like this one gets an apostle to come, one hasn't come here in almost 20 years!

I sure love you all! Thank you for letting me know how you are all doing, I really do care a lot. I miss you and hope that you all stay safe and warm. I love you and am praying for you!

Love, Elder Backus

Christmas 2014...........

Christmas definitely felt more focused this year.  Elder Backus kept us thinking about what is most important by inviting us to #ShareTheGift.  I loved the video that was shared around the world through social media.....

A group of musicians, producers, videographers, and all those who had a desire to take part, organized a world record breaking, live nativity, which was then made into an inspiring video that has been viewed almost 7,000,000 times........

Some pictures of December..........

We got to watch Drue while Tyler and Camille went ice skating......

Temple Square with Christine and friends.......

Christine's Christmas dance show........

Christmas Sunday..........

Christine and her best friend, Crista, had an ugly sweater Christmas party with 28 girls!!!!!

Christmas morning...........

Christine asked for an instant camera.  I am still shaking my head about how these dinosaurs are making a come back........

The highlight of our day was skyping with Elder Backus.

Grandma, Grandpa, Cindy & CJ.

Every Christmas Eve we open an ornament that is a reflection of the past year, this was Cody's :).

Last week of 2014 in Roswell.........

Hey Mom!

Good to be able to communicate with you again (: Talking with you all was so awesome, you all looked so great. Haha I think every call you get a little distracted, especially the closer you get to the end, but I am fine, I am just really grateful that the Lord is watching over you guys.

Holy smokes Cassidy is 17 tomorrow?? Do you remember when I was 17?? Haha I sure do. Funny to think that when I was Cassidy's age I was already a month into my Senior Year...what are your plans tomorrow? She isn't going to ditch the family for James like I did for Justine on my birthday will she? Haha I feel pretty bad about that one.

So we had 5 investigators come to church Sunday! Wahoo! Bobby, Charmange, Rachel, Alec, and Sid all came. Bobby, Eudora and Sid are all set for the 10th for baptism, and we are still working with the other two. Sweet is the work I say.

Hey, so I need you to check something out for me...its time for the cosmetics portion of our emails. I heard of this thing called 800razors.com that supposedly claims burn-free, do you think you could check it out and let me know? You are the best (:

I sure love you Mom. Thanks for being you, I love you (: Have an awesome week, I miss you greatly and am looking forward to that letter. I love you Mom!