Blessings of the Temple - Jan 19

Hello family!

It has been another wonderful week! The has been mainly wonderful because of the temple. 

I think I have told many of you, possibly even in a group email, that we are allowed to do 3 hours of family history a week! Oh how I have loved doing it. Mainly what I have been working on is the unknown parts of the family. I decide and felt impressed to work on one name, a man named William Moore. He is on the Roberts side of the family. Well for the first 3 weeks I was looking census after census. I could not find anymore info on him. It was pretty discouraging but I was determined to find him. I think the Lord was testing me, seeing if I was really dedicated to the work of family history. Since then I have found 2 more sons, 2 more daughters, 2 of the son's wives, and one of the daughters husbands. It has been incredible to see how after the trial came the miracle! It has not only blessed my life but we have been able to get our investigators and members addicted as well! 

The great blessing came on Saturday. Saturday was a glorious day! Darin and Shirley went and received their endowments. Then they were sealed. Here are some highlights from that experience. 

1. In connection with Williams family I was able to do the work for his son John L Moore. There is an incredible feeling when you do the work for YOUR ancestors. We have been taught by many prophets and apostles that going to the temple is half the blessings and doing your family history is the other half. To receive all the blessings of temple in family history work we need to take our ancestors to the temple.

2. I was the witness at their sealing! That was probably one of the coolest things I have done. 

3. I gained new insights on the ordinances and covenants of the temple. A lot of that came as the sealer was talking before their sealing. He was one of the past temple presidents. So he had incredible insights. Also some of the questions of my soul were answered! 

4. Like I have said in past emails. Coshocton is family away from family! The Pierces (friends of Grandma and Grandpa Roberts) came back out for it. Also many of the branch members were there. It was a wonderful experience to all be together in the temple as a branch family. 

The temple is incredible! The blessings received there are beyond this world, literally. We need to make sure that we are worthy of recommend. Not only should we have the recommend we should use it often!! 

Love,

Elder Baird 

Sisters and Brothers in the Service of God - Jan 12

Hello family! 

It has been an eventful week! Full of many tears and laughs! 

It was a much better week concerning the work!

There is a family I have been working on for quite some time. They are a family that is always busy! We stop in like once or twice a month to see how they are doing. Well we stopped in and the mother of the family said, I want to know all I can about your church. Well I told her we teach 5 lessons and she was all on board for hearing them. So we are super excited about. Another family is on date to be baptized on February 14th! 

The big news of the week is yesterday I was released from being branch president. I am still in Coshocton though. I am not quite sure yet what the Lord has in store for transfers for me on the 22nd. Most people in the mission do not know yet and I am trying to keep it that way. When I got called 6 months ago it spread like wild fire. The funniest part was when I was emergency transferred from being an assistant to Coshocton. You would not believe the rumors that flew. Some had no clue where I was sent. The funniest one I heard was I almost died and was medically sent home to survive. Another favorite one was I made President Nilsen really mad and he banished me to Coshcoton. So I have told only President Daines, Elder Pike, Elder Campbell and Elder Monahan about it. The rest can find out at transfers! 

One thing that I have loved the most about serving as a Branch President and a missionary is the love and friendships that are kindled in the service of our God. I am amazed at the friends and family I have gained since being out here. We are all part of one being happy family, the family of God. Paul teaches this principle directly. To the Romans he says,"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16) Then to the people of Galatia he teaches, "For ye are all the children of God" (Galatians 3:26). Now this latter verse could be meaning children of Christ or Jehovah rather then children of Heavenly Father or Elohim. I find this based off the later verses and words in Galatians talking about being baptized. We become Children of Christ through internalizing the doctrine of Christ and being baptized. But we all, no matter the person, are children of a Father in Heaven. I believe a gift of the Spirit that is not directly mentioned in the list of gifts but is definitely told of through the scriptures is the gift of loving others. If we allow this gift to truly penetrate our hearts we can have a sincere love for all the children of Adam. That is gift I have treasured most recently and is a gift I desire to continue to have.  

Love,

Elder Baird 

His Hand

Hello Family,

This week was another wonderful week in the mission field. It was slow in concept of the progression of the work. A missionary's least favorite phrase right now is to hear, lets wait after the holidays. Well guess what? The holidays are over! 

The cool spiritual experience for the week was the faith of one of our investigators. Her and her family have been taking the lessons for quite sometime. She asked us on Saturday if we could give her a blessing to stop smoking. We have not even retaught her the Word of Wisdom but she understood that the vice of smoking was stopping her spiritual progression.

It is amazing to me how the Lord inspires, chastises, edifies, and uplifts us.  I have loved the hand of the Lord in my life. No matter the sin, not matter the pride, and no matter the weakness the words of Isiah continue to ring in my ears, "but his hand is stretched out still." "is" to me is the most comforting word within that short little phrase. It does not say his hand will be, or his had could be, or his hand was. The Lord makes it very clearly in many verses of Isiah that, "his hand is stretchered out still" and always will be. We just need to be agents unto ourselves, and act, not be acted upon. We need to have faith and grasp the hand that is ever waiting to pull us up out of our pit of despair. The power of the Lord's hand is incredible. We see by His hand healing can take place. As the man without sight approaches Christ in Bethsaida pleading with the Lord to heal him of his infirmity by touching him. Then Christ "took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him...and he (the blind man) was restored"(Mark 8:22-26). We see the hand of the Lord saves us when we fall. As Peter is sinking into the sea as he has tried his faith at walking on water we see the reaction of the Lord. "And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him" Even when Peter was doubting and having little faith the Lord assisted him. He did not wait for the water to get to his neck or waited to see him suffer. But the moment that Peter had the faith to call for help from the Lord, immediately "his hand was stretched out". Was it not His hands that bore the weight of all our sorrows and troubles? It is by his hands that he understands. By His hand being nailed to the cross for each of us, we can receive forgiveness. It is by His hands we can be believing. And apostle of the Lord, Thomas, in the New Testament had is belief renewed by the hand of the Lord. "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side:and be not faithless, but believing."(John 20:27) The Nephites as well came to know the Lord by His hands. "Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." (3 Ne. 11:14)  We may never have the opportunity to physically touch the hands of Christ till the next life. But I know that we can spiritually feel and know of the hands of the Messiah through His Atonement. By humility we may know like the blind man that the hands of the God of Israel can heal us. Just like Peter if we have the faith to ask, we can know the hands of Shepherd can and will lift us out of despair. Just like Thomas and the Nephites we may know by applying the Atonement of Christ into our lives the reality and divinity of the hands of the Messiah in our salvation. 

Love,

Elder Baird