Una Carta Inusual de Tucson

¡Hola mis amigos!

Today's letter is going to be a little different, and I understand if you don't have the opportunity to read the whole thing. (Testimony is at the bottom.) But, if you do, I wish to impart my greatest thanks and joyous tidings to you, and hopefully my feeble writing may suffice for some small part of your edification in the faith and the life. I will be writing stream-of-conciousness today, in handwriting, in order to present the completeness of my joys and revelation in some small part.

Being on my mission has not been an easy process. On the 19th I happened to pass over my four-month mark; my feeling as to that may not be easily expressed, but despite the pains of growth in the presence of strong adversity, the joy of human fellowship, the wistful nostalgia for the simplicity of yesteryear, and the bright and glorious hope of the future are all particularly predominant in my mind at this time. In the midst of my travail, you -- the relationships I have previously developed and attempted to nourish, and which may seem to sit quiescent as we are divided by the great gulf of parallel paths -- have been in my thoughts, and I wish to assure each and every one of you of the special place you have in my heart. You are they who edify me in the Spirit; the bridge between my past, my present, and my future.

At this time, it is particularly interesting for me to reflect on my mission: I have now had the pleasure of working with four amazing companions, each of which has helped lift me up and provided the essential environment whereby I may develop my nascent interdependence. Even after all these years, I had perhaps fancied that things would be easier: but the lifestyle of constant contact with one's companion, a rich ward and area with great treasures of culture and the presence of the elect, and what fundamentally boils down to a total change of conditions for my growth and development -- these things have been immensely difficult. There has been much trial as I have worked to serve and edify my companions and those we are teaching, and the struggles and hardships of, first independence, and now seemingly interdependence have been particularly pronounced. I am not afraid to say that there were times where I had a great fear towards being broken. And yet: through it all, I have had the opportunity to turn further to our Savior, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and I have had the opportunity to see the principles of the Atonement on active display, like never before, each and every day. Though my humility and patience are lacking, I have tried again and again to stand up and strong, and though often the storms of life threaten to or do kick me down, I stand here today, able to see the visibly glorious horizon of the garden of the Lord.

Throughout this time I have been reading the scriptures, of course, and fascinatingly I finished my last read-through of the Book of Mormon on the same and aforementioned 19th of this month. The coincidence was shocking. I am still laboring my way through the New Testament, but should complete it soon; as soon as I am able I will be beginning a concurrent read-through of the Old Testament and Doctrine and Covenants. It is essential to me that I read the sacred works of our religion: I desire to learn the will and word of God that I may find peace in its completeness in totality (of revealed nature) and then, perhaps, focus on greater understanding -- or a progressing of knowledge of the pieces which fit together in the great whole of the Gospel, the good news, the grand annunciation of Jesus Christ. Truly, that knowledge is a great and endless treasure to be pursued. As part of my efforts (and here a short aside) I have also begun to attempt to read the Bible in Greek, or at least piecemeal; as missionaries we have access to a wonderful app called Parallel Plus whereby we may compare different translations of the Bible, including in multiple languages. I have satiated myself in learning and practicing the reading and pronunciation of the biblical Greek alphabet to begin my studies, but -- in emulation of one of our investigators -- I eventually hope to be able to read in biblical Greek. I have already been able to glean further meaning out of certain verses from the efforts.

It is difficult and indeed difficult to my desire that I should assess or describe the work here in the advancement of the gathering of Israel, but it should suffice me to say that there is much work to do and that we are making progress every day. As I have previously stated, though my area is perhaps poor in substance, it is rich in character and in Spirit. One family, of course, I have previously described: to use Paul's language in 1 Thessalonians 2, they are our hope, joy, crown of rejoicing; our glory and joy has been their advancement towards the presence and everlasting gospel and union of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They are some of our closest friends. Beyond: we continue to work with a part-member family where the oldest child wants to serve a mission, but where there are no active members in the home; and further, we have set another baptismal date as of yesterday for a woman who has already read much of our scriptures and strongly desires for the blessings of the Lord to be bestowed upon her life! But for the former family: their current baptismal date is April the 3rd -- one day before the anniversary of my own baptism around the same age.

There is much to do, and I greatly enjoy the teaching of the word. Though I am in an English-speaking area at the moment, the simple process of teaching is such a simple pleasure that I may not adequately describe it: it is simply joyful, delightsome, of great worth. I have found (what should perhaps not be to my surprise and surely will not to many of you) that I love breaking doctrines down and explaining them to the edification of the soul. Perhaps it is in this that I find much comfort in Paul's charge to proselyting.

In my completion of the reading of the Book of Mormon I also find comfort, for I have discovered many treasures of knowledge therein and have found my understanding to come much easier than in my prior read-through, quite possibly due in part to my efforts to cultivate the presence of the Spirit. Reading is often the best part of my day: I truly love coming to understand and learn the stories, covenants, and principles present in the scriptures. For you, the reader, I suggest thrusting yourself into the scriptures. I write this with reference to tenacity: it took me some time of more rote reading (in fact, until I came to the Gospels and the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon) before this passion became evident. Begin with a verse, or a chapter a day simply to begin learning. One chapter a day will help you grow your knowledge steadily and become familiar with the scriptures as you begin to read. Some of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 2, 2 Nephi 31, 2 Nephi 32, Mosiah 2-5, Mosiah 18, Alma 5, Alma 32, 3 Nephi 11, Moroni 7. Perhaps start with one of these -- 3 Nephi 11 is particularly recommended -- to begin. Alma 32 has much to say about faith as well.

Regardless: the presence of the Spirit has been greatly in favor of my edification as of late, and indeed the faith we place in the Spirit -- even if we simply have the merest desire for that faith, meekness, and humility -- is great to help us survive our hardships, overcome our obstacles, and become an upstanding person, in any sense: whether as a defender of the faith, a fellow citizen of the polis, or even as a friend or family member. I have seen and felt the Spirit's influence, God's influence, upon my life and I have seen it touch numberless people around me. I can truly testify of the atoning power of Christ's sacrifice, that through Him our efforts may not be in vain, and that we may truly grow to become better, stronger, more mature individuals as we labor through the great test of life. Think of the refiner's fire: we may be put in the fire for some time, but as we put our faith in Him we can come out stronger than ever before. I truly testify that He lives and that this is his work. Amen.

I sincerely hope that you are all doing well, whether back home, at school, on a mission, or otherwise. May God bless you all from His great abundance.

(If you're reading this, that means you should probably shoot me a response! I would love to hear from you! Even just a few words will suffice me for this time.)

With much love,

Elder Wyatt Brannon

Arizona Tucson Mission