Sunday, September 16, 2012

DANIEL: March 28, 2012

Danny shared his mission newsletter this week.  You can read it here.

Hello Families and Friends

I want to share a story with you all because I love stories that inspire me. These two stories are amazing stories.
The first story was told by mission president. Jackson.

Pushing the Rock

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared.  The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin.  The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might...

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from 
sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling 
that his whole day had been spent in vain.
Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind. (He will do it every time!)  "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn't moved." Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.  These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving 
just the minimum effort, and that will be good enough."  That's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting 
all my strength to do that which you have asked.  Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you 
to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.  Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push.
And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself.  Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock.

But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your 
faith and trust in My wisdom.
That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own 
intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that 
it is still God Who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong................................Just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you down.............................................Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't do as you think they should...............Just P.U.S.H.
When your money is "gone" and the bills are due...........Just P.U.S.H.
When people just don't understand you.............................Just P.U.S.H.

P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens

The second story was shared by Elder Bradley’s Grandma . The Pencil Story

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked: Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:  
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.  ‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’
‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

These stories helped me to see what I can do to better myself and How can I help others.

Thank you for you Love and support.

Elder Daniel Aruldoss

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