Hello Family and Friends,
I had a wonderful time speaking with everyone on Skype. I didn't expect that Dad would have gotten on Skype to talk to me before the family. I wish I could have talked with him longer. This week went well. Last Monday, our car got ruined by a hail storm. It was a Chevy Cruse. It was replaced for us with a 2017 Toyota Corolla. This new car has a USB port for us to play song with it. It had never been driven until me and Elder Gubler got it. Most people in the area got damage from the hail. Some members in the ward even said there was a small tornado in their trailer park during it. I'm not kidding. I have attached a copy of a talk that I gave and my testimony that I bore a few weeks ago. I heard from the family that the move is going well and Alex made a beast of a computer. I hope everything goes well with getting the family ready to move. I don't know when I will meet with President Gifford, but it should be roughly around a week before the 6th of next month.
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| Skyping Home for Mother's Day |
Hello Everyone,
I had a good week. It is great that the family is getting so close to going back to Utah. I heard about the birthdays from Mom, thank you for sending the pictures. Tell Ben, Evelyn, and Abby Happy Birthday from me. Lately I have been having problems getting up in the morning. I've just been having a hard time going to bed. I just haven't been getting tired at 10:30. It was ok when Elder Holland was here, but Elder Gubler has been letting me sleep in. I just need something to get me tired when it gets closer to go to bed time. I haven't had any talks with my mission president this week, but he had me do an online survey today for him and I think that was a part of the process of getting reassigned. I will let you know if anything changes. We went to cleaned some Black Mold for service this week and had some good lessons with investigators, but nothing else new. We do have some good investigators and they are close to baptism. They are probably going to be baptized after I'm gone on June 6th. Can someone also try to get me Rose's mailing address? I want to send her letters too and I don't have it. I won't be emailing you until Tuesday next week due to Memorial Day. Love you all.
Elder Butler
Josh's Talk and Written Testimony are included below.
Elder Butler
Sunday April 30th 2017
Missionary example
Goodmorning. I have been asked today to give a talk today about missionary work. I wanted to make this talk more personal to me so I have decided to do a talk on how missionary work sets an example. As a missionary, I wear a nametag that states I am acting in place of Jesus Christ. If I am to act in place of the savior, then I need to be like him like how it was commanded. He had set the example for how we can gain salvation and to receive exaltation after this life and we may not need to pay the price like he did, but we are still asked and commanded to be like and to love like him.
There is a story in the Book of Mormon talking about the wars with the Nephites and the Lamanites. In Alma 60, Captain Moroni was writing a letter to Pahoran who was the Chief Judge of the land at the time. He was angry at Pahoran because he didn’t supply the Nephite armies and many righteous men were killed by the Lamanites. You need to note that in Alma 48:17 Its states “Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” This man who is one of the most righteous men in the history of the world, was very angry. But if you look in chapter 61 of Alma, in Pahoran’s letter back to Captain Moroni, he says that there was rebellion in the capital and so he is unable to send supplies, but in verse 9 he says “And now, in your epistle (letter) you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free.” He stated that he isn’t angry that Moroni is angry with him, but he is happy that he cares for these people and cares enough to yell at him. This is a very great example of being great examples. They were both righteous men, but even with their faults, they were able to teach great lessons and be examples for us in these latter days.
This past Monday (24th of April) I had gotten an Email from a young man in my home ward named Dakota. He was an honors student and one of the best football players at our school and he had magnified his calling in the church and was one of the young men either looked up to or was proud of. He had left on a mission to the Rome, Italy mission before I had left on my mission. He had also returned early from the mission before I had left. I don’t know the reason for his return nor had wondered why, but I had respected his choice to return. He had asked if I was doing well in the Email he had sent. He had also said of how great of an example I was to him. Me? An example? He had said that he always looked forward to seeing me when I passed by him anywhere and just said hi and talked to him. This hit me to my soul that I had inspired this man, one who everyone looked up to.
There is a story in the Bible about a King who went to go collect the taxes from his thanes. When one of them couldn’t pay the debt, he pleaded with the King to give him more time. The King gave compassion to this thane and removed the dept. Shortly after this event, the same Thane went to go and collect the tax from his underlings when one of them pleaded like he did to the king, but the thane wouldn’t forgive him. When the other thanes heard about this, they reported it to the king and the king called him to his palace. The king had questioned why this thane didn’t show compassion. The king had put the Thane in prison and gave him back the debt. The example portrayed in this story sets one of the examples for how we will be able to return to our heavenly father.
The best example we can show to everyone is the 2 great commandments which are to love god with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength, and to love thy neighbor as thyself. If we can follow these two commandments, and follow the examples of the people in the scriptures and in the stories of the church, then we will be living how we are supposed to live, and I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Elder Butler
May 7th 2017
Personal Testimony
Goodmorning. I want you to look in the hymn book at hymn 5. The hymn is “High on a Mountain Top”. If you look at who wrote the text, the name is Joel Hills Johnson. He was my ancestor, my 5th great grandfather. The story behind the hymn is that he lived in Millcreek Canyon in Utah which is not very far from Salt Lake City. Every month he would hike down the mountain with a wagon to pay his tithes and offerings at the bishop’s storehouse. He would know he was safely down the mountain when he looked up behind him and see the flag that had been posted up at the top of ensign peak. One day as he was resting beside the wagon waiting for the line to the bishops storehouse to go down, he was pondering that flag and what it meant to him, he began writing about that flag. Later on, he showed the poem he had written to his friend John Taylor. He asked to borrow it. Later on, He used that poem and one other for hymns in the hymn book. His Poem is “High on a Mountain Top”.
If you look at the bottom of the hymn, you can see that there are some scriptures with it. I would like to flip open to Isaiah chapter 2 verse 2-3 and it says “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” This was a prophecy to Isaiah about these last days. I learned 2 things about these verses that I think are important to note. First in a Utah History class that I took in Jr. High, when Utah was being named that the saints wanted it “Deseret” which is Hebrew for “Worker Bee”. It would have been named that, but a politician had spoken out and said it should be named “Utah” after the “Ute” Indians. It was decided to name the state “Utah” people found out that Utah is a Ute word. It meant tops of mountains. Second is that the verse is also said That the Mount of the lord's house. I learned that that Mountain or Mount is a team used for a ruler or something mighty for an example that the German title for a King is also “Bergentrückung” or as translated “Mountain Side” or “Mountain King.” I believe that it states when it says when “the mountain of the lord's house.”
Taking those 2 things in it changes the verse to “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the greatest of the Lord’s houses shall be established in Utah, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the House of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
This scripture is what had kept me in the church. I was at a low point in the church and this gave me my first real testimony, before it I had the basic testimony of “ I believe because my parents do.” but I know now that this church is true and I hope you get your answer as plainly as I got mine, and I say these things, in the name of Jesus christ, Amen.
