Friday, May 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Scripture Experiment. Life Foundations
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The Scripture Experiment: A Life Chronicle
Sunday, April 8, 2012
My Easter Talk
In Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, the villagers of a small town mid-western town gather together in the square on a beautiful summer’s day. Village children, who have just finished school for the summer, run around collecting stones. They put the stones in their pockets and make a pile in the square. Men gather next, followed by the women. Parents call their children over, and families stand together. Tessie Hutchinson joins her husband and children at the front of the crowd. She’s excited about the lottery—until she draws the slip of paper with the black dot. As the unfortunate lottery winner, she’s marked for death and ultimately stoned by her family, friends and villagers.
There’s horror in Shirley Jackson’s story. In our day and age, we know that the sacrifice of one individual cannot appease the gods or secure a bountiful harvest. Human life is valued, held sacred and protected and we, as a people, in general, as a nation—abhor violence and the shedding of innocent blood. Love, serve and bless—protect not only yourself, but those around you from harm and evil. These are the values I’ve been taught—this is what I have tried to teach my children.
So, in this mortal, earthly frame of mind—I will admit that I cannot understand the atonement of Christ. How can one person suffer and die for the salvation of all humanity? From an intellectual distance—it’s unfathomable to me. But I also accept that I can’t understand everything, that there are many things I have to accept on faith. There are just so many things that I don’t understand how they work—satellites, cell phones, kidneys and hormones—but just because I don’t understand how something works, doesn’t mean that I can’t make use of them--appreciate them and express gratitude for them.
Today I’d like to share with you what I have learned of the atonement of Christ. Please forgive me for sharing a very personal experience. My understanding of the atonement is, if nothing else, personal—as I think it must be for each of us. President Monson said, Every Cinderella has her midnight. Let me tell you about one of mine.
After the doctors told my mother that there was nothing more that they could do, my parents traveled to Mexico for experimental cancer treatments that were illegal in the United States and left me with my twenty-four year old brother, who decided to go to Canada. We lived in rural Washington on a large piece of property. I was fourteen years old and for the first time, went to bed in an empty house. I woke up around two in the morning—the stereo was turned up and blasting in the next room. Let me describe the 1970’s stereo system. It had a turnstile and a receiver and because our system happened to be broken, the receiver had to be manually lifted and placed on the record. This was not a matter of flipping a switch and pressing a button for instantaneous music. No—someone would have had to go into the music chest, select an album, place it on the turnstile, turn on the stereo, lift and place the receiver on the spinning record and then crank up the volume as loud as it could go. In the nearly forty years since, I’ve had many terrifying experiences, but this remains one of the most frightening.
In my midnight, I turned to the only one I knew who could hear me. My Heavenly Father. And for the first time in my life, I came to know the very real, calm and reassurance that only He can give. I felt an outpouring of his love and I held onto that comfort and peace—not only on that dark night, but through the long days of my mother’s illness and subsequent death. Because of that midnight—I know where to turn when things look bleak, chaotic or hopeless and for this—I’m profoundly grateful. How I wish my mom hadn’t suffered. I wish I could have been raised in a happy home free of sickness and suffering—but I’m grateful that at a very young age, I learned where to turn for peace, because when I’m sometimes plagued with doubts and fears—I remember that night when the Lord heard and answered my prayer. I’ve had many midnights since then—times when my faith has been weak, times when I’ve been lonely and scared and each time I’ve recalled the feelings of peace and comfort of that long ago night.
Elder Holland tells us in his beautiful sermon, Broken Things to Mend,
“If you are lonely, please know you can find comfort. If you are discouraged, please know you can find hope. If you are poor in spirit, please know you can be strengthened. If you feel you are broken, please know you can be mended.”
In Nazareth, the narrow road,
That tires the feet and steals the breath,
Passes the place where once abode
The Carpenter of Nazareth.
And up and down the dusty way
The village folk would often wend;
And on the bench, beside Him, lay
Their broken things for Him to mend.
The maiden with the doll she broke,
The woman with the broken chair,
The man with broken plough, or yoke,
Said, “Can you mend it, Carpenter?”
And each received the thing he sought,
In yoke, or plough, or chair, or doll;
The broken thing which each had brought
Returned again a perfect whole.
So, up the hill the long years through,
With heavy step and wistful eye,
The burdened souls their way pursue,
Uttering each the plaintive cry:
“O Carpenter of Nazareth,
This heart, that’s broken past repair,
This life, that’s shattered nigh to death,
Oh, can You mend them, Carpenter?”
And by His kind and ready hand,
His own sweet life is woven through
Our broken lives, until they stand
A New Creation—“all things new.”
“The shattered [substance] of [the] heart,
Desire, ambition, hope, and faith,
Mould Thou into the perfect part,
O, Carpenter of Nazareth!”
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Jared 7-12
First responding to everyones comments:
Of course I'm having fun! Everything out here in Taiwan is just amazing. Its like you know how life supposedly goes through phases? Like you have the honeymoon phase, then the hate everything phase, then the okay grin and bear it phase, then the endure to the end and make the best. Ever heard that? (We heard it about 3 times in the Missionary Training Center) Well I'm not really sure what happened to my mission experience because I either just skipped the bad parts and went straight to the endure to the end, or I'm just stuck in Honeymoon phase. Either way I love it!
You all are getting a beach condo?! That's so fun. Gongxi fazai :) (congratulations)
Haha Natalie asked me what my goals for my mission are, and well Natalie I have about a million goals... I have a goal for every aspect of my life divided into daily weekly monthly and Mission goals. I can tell you that my ultimate goal is to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ through Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, BAPTISM, gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end." (Missionary purpose) I strive to have everything I do help with that purpose.
I had a cookie a couple months ago. (Taiwanese) and 4 months ago (chocolate chip)
Congratulations on getting the blue car Natalie!
Every morning during personal study I always spend some time reading the Book of Mormon, most times I also read other scriptures, often study for the benefit of our investigators.
How is Nathan affording all these cool adventures? And can I go on some with him later?
Well things here in Taiwan Huwei are amazing. We're seeing a lot of miracles. One thing I learned recently is how weak man is. We as humans are weak. Almost everyone is captivated by something, that we personally cannot break from. We are weak. We need our Father in Heaven, you need your Heavenly Father. Fall to your knees and plead with him. Plead to have strength, plead to have power, plead for forgiveness. You are weak, but He is strong. Put an end to your pride and plead with your Father in Heaven with full purpose of heart, and it will be given you.
I love you.
-Elder Tate
Tang zhanglao
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Jared 6-6
Mom you should know far better by now to think that the painting people would actually be finished anytime when they said they would be. For example, you had 2 sons that said they would take off the paint of your banister, and well, we're still working on that one. :P
Haha yes mother I could imagine that exactly how Heavenly Father thinks sometimes. Of course He would be more than willing to go on a walk with you at 6 in the morning, without any kind of complaining :)
Good for Natalie, and he choir program, how was her little party? And why dis the girls party go till midnight? Everyone knows the Holy Ghost goes to bed at 11! That's so fun that Miranda got to have a big party like that, did she have fun? Miranda did you have fun?
And of course everyone had fun playing with my old toys, did they go crazy on the little wobbler?
I wish the best of luck to the Weylands, I will definitely include them in my prayers, and if all else fails, Taiwanese realestate is actually quite a good deal, especially if you're looking for a hut on a mountain ;)
Everything here is doing amazingly. Elder Boyer and I have really been working hard. We've been focussing on working with the members in our ward a lot more, and as a result members this week have provided 17 friends and family members that missionaries will be contacting and sharing the gospel with. Our recent convert Liu2 Yuan2 Ji2 has really become active in missionary work. He almost everyday accompanies our lessons, and he's brought a number of investigators to church. It really is a blessing to see the gospel work through the hands of ordinary members. Mom I would testify to you that the best way to help your friend is to help her be active in God's church. (is she a member? I don't think so...) help her to be baptized, and watch as the Lord fulfills His promise being born again, and eventually spotless before the Father at the last day. I love this church, I love this Gospel. It brings people purpose, it brings people hope, but best of all, this Gospel brings people salvation.
I love you,
Elder Tate
Tang zhi qin zhanglao
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Jared goes to Costco
Guess what I did today?! I went to Cosco! It was awesome. Is there a cosco by our house? Yeah sure, it was only like an hour bike ride there, then another hour back. but it was amazing! We ate pizza! (We never eat pizza) and I bought cosco muffins and a giant thing of chocolate milk, and my companion bought some brownie mix! its amazing... My companion has a membership card, and we all spent at least 500 kuai each. But it was so worth it :)
Our investigators are really good. We have a lot of people looking to be baptized on the day right before move call (move call is when some people change locations, and most likely I'll be moving next move call). Let me tell you about them:
You dixiong and his girlfriend zhang jiemei. Unfortunately these 2 live together, but they graduate from college on the 11th, and hoping they will get baptized and confirmed on the 18th right before going home.
Yang dixiong - he's a member referall from an inactive family that is coming back. He personally has a pretty sad past, with a job that overworks him. He has a strong desire to repent and be baptized, and is in the process of quiting smoking.
Guo bao yuan dixiong- I know I'm not supposed to play favorites, but if I were forced to.... it'd probably be him. He is a ten year old boy that self contacted us, rode his bike a half hour for our first meeting, has befriended everyone in his primary class, goes to a ton of other activities, but best of all, he wants to grow up to be a samurai warrior! It is so much fun spending time with him. :)
Then a handful of others that we are hoping will hit their goals for being baptized while I'm still here in the blessed land of taiping.
Elder Boyer and I are working hard and really seeing th blessings from it. Again we had 6 investigators attend church, it is such a blessing to see the fruits of your labor, but I know this is all the Lord's work. Lately we've received a lot of training on working with the ward, and honestly it is paying off. 4 of the six investigators this week we personally brought, or otherwised taken care of by the ward. Our ward is really doing some amazing things lately, I've seen a number of less actives come back to church, and our 10 year old bao yuan investigator has been taken under the wing of an amazing family in the ward. I realized that what the Lord asks of the members of the church is not to just occassionally accompany the missionaries lessons, or help them when they are at church, but he expects the members to incorporate these people into their lives. I've really seen how much of a difference it makes when members sacrifice, and imply these brothers and sisters in their lives. I know that as you, my friends and family back at home really sacrifice for the missionaries, and more importantly for their investigators you will see the work back in wards start to explode, and really see the Lord watching over your personal lives as well. So, would you all be willing to make sacrifices and do something different for the missionaries, and they're investigators?
I love you. I know that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lives. 2 thousand years ago he died on the Cross, 3 days later he resurrected and about 1800 years after that he once again came down to Earth, and appeared to a young man looking for truth. This is the greatest message in the world, Share IT!
Love,
Elder Tate
Tang Zhanglao
