Choice and Accountability

> > family and friends, > > this week, went by in a flash, im doing great, just continuing in the work. this week we had the leadership council meeting of the mission. it was amazing as always. we spent all day thursday in the mission home. the plus was, when it was all over and the missionaries left, my companion and i had stayed to wait for our ride home, and our mission president sat us down on his couch and just sat there talking to us about what we had learned during the meeting, what we had been learning lately. it was a huge blessing for me. today i said goodbye to the hatchs. they are finishing their mission and going home next week, and i wont be able to see them again. luckily they live in provo and i will be able to see them when im back at byu again, so it was just a temporary goodbye. this sunday we were sitting in church, the meetings had already started and in walked a lady we were not expecting at all. her name is carmen, she is the sister of a recent convert to the church. we had taught her twice before. she has a hard life, filled with drugs, and related health issues. we had taught her , but hadnt invited her to church yet, but she came on her own accord, that is a HUGE, demonstration of faith. for me that was incredible. its the little things. > > > i have two thoughts for the week. one begins with a story of a cake. we sat down in a members house to enjoy a small cake, there were 6 of us. Two things were obvious, the cake would be enough for everyone to have some, but it wouldnt be very much for each one. the cake was already in crumbled pieces because it hadnt seperated from the pan smoothly. we all began to grab, the first thought that crossed each of our minds was to eat as fast as we could, in order to eat as much of the cake as we could. the natural man, is selfish, and sees only what is his, it is the first instict, the alarm that goes off in our head to make sure we get as much as we can, and the rest arent important. in that moment that the eating frenzy began, i thought, about the needs of the human body compared to the first natural instict i had felt. in all reality the body doesnt even need chocolate cake. so why did i feel such a strong desire to eat as much as a could, before the rest ate it? like i said before, the natural man is selfish, and we must put off the natural man, and subject ourselves to the influence of the spirit. If we focus on the needs of others, looking outward rather than inward, we will be filled with happiness and joy that comes from service to others, and we can trust and have faith that God will provide for our needs, so long as we are in His service. > > the second thought is on accountability. When we consider ourselves to be christians, what we mean to say is we consider ourselves to be followers of Christ. upon being baptized by proper authority we take upon ourselves His name in a very real sense. we will all stand before God to be judged for our decions and desires during this life. we will be held accountable for the use of christs name in our life. that means, that right now, everything, we do, every moment we spend, we are adding to the book of our life. do our decisions represent the will of Christ? do our desires? is there every a "freeby moment?" on friday night, where we no longer represent that name? > > well my family and friends, i love all of you, hold to the truth, dont let the lies of the world, blind you. > > > elder myers

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