How Long Shall We Suffer These Great Afflictions, O Lord?

This week was fun! We were all kind of nervous about transfers-- it's weird to contemplate not being here in Virginia haha. I've gotten so close with so many of the members and learned so much from the people here. Luckily, we all get to stay for at least the next six weeks! It's super nice to have 3 companions to hang out with and talk to. This week the new youth album came out, so we've had new music to listen to which has been wonderful! I can't wait till I get back and can finally listen to music with a nice setup that's loud. People get pretty upset when my speaker is blasting at 6:35 in the morning. 

We meet with a few people weekly who are almost finished enduring to the end-- it's pretty difficult to see sometimes. Most of the time they are all great examples to me of happiness in the face of adversity, but sometimes they really struggle. This came to a head when one of them told us that they wanted to die and felt invisible. My companion said that the gospel and Jesus can strengthen us (which is totally true), but our friend said that he had no idea what the crushing heartbreak of the end of life is like. Which is also true. God sends 19-year-old young men to be his full-time servants all over the world. We preach messages of happiness and perform acts of service, and most of the time it's a pretty sweet gig. So our friend's unasked question was really, "how can you kids tell me anything that will make me feel better?" The truth is-- our words alone are hollow; they're cheap. I felt inspired to share one of the most heart wrenching stories in the Book of Mormon with him.

Alma gives up the judgement seat to go preach the gospel in the city Ammonihah. Nobody listens to him and he is thrown out of Ammonihah, but he labors much in the spirit-- wrestling with God in mighty prayer that he will be able to baptize them unto repentance. But nothing happens; they totally reject him. Alma, full of sorrow, is about to move on when he is visited by an angel who tells him to go back and try again. He returns speedily and meets Amulek! After teaching Amulek, they begin to teach together and with such power that even a crafty lawyer named Zeezrom is converted. I remember that when I was taught this story, that was where the story ended, but it doesn't. After they have had much success, the chief judge gets angry and binds them with cords and throws them into prison. Then the people take all the believers and their holy scriptures and cast them into the fire, and they make Alma and Amulek watch. They are forced to witness this awful scene and can do nothing. They do nothing because the spirit tells Alma that the believers must be burned in order for justice to come to the wicked. Then, after this, Alma and Amulek are spit on and beaten up. They are deprived of food and water and are naked. And they remain in prison for months if not years (many days is what it says). Only then are they finally delivered. After sharing this with our friend, I said that we might have no idea what suffering at the end of life is like, but I bet Alma and Amulek have an idea of what that suffering is like. Alma suffered so much even though he was faithful and obedient. Even though he was doing everything God asked. 

Sometimes my mission feels like that. Sometimes life feels like that. God doesn't want us to suffer, he really doesn't. But part of taking up the cross and following him, I think, means that we need to be persecuted for His sake, spat upon and hated as He was. So we can truly become like Him. So we can recognize how great His sacrifice really was. But most importantly, so we can remember how totally dependent we are on Him. Because He had no one, we have someone. We have a Savior who with great mercy will succor us, always. I love you guys and know that God loves you even more! 

-Elder Dahl

The Spirit of God

This week was fun! We had 3 exchanges this week so a whole bunch of time to learn and grow and spend time with our district leader and Elder Enniss. It's nice to get a break from the normal and just have someone to talk to in person haha about my life. The missionary lifestyle is demanding but wonderful and has already taught me so much. It is because I have chosen to develop these spiritual habits and make time for the Lord that he has blessed me with increased faith and knowledge of his mysteries! I've been studying the prophet Joseph Smith's teachings and this quote was impressive:

"Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to Him, He is ready to come to us.”

One of the most amazing things about the true church is that everyone can receive as much knowledge and light as they are willing to seek. Part of that seeking is to live and apply the previous knowledge that you have received-- remember Christ is the master teacher. He is not going to give you some calculus until you've learned how to apply the rules of algebra. However, if you are willing to learn calculus, you will gain all the power that that knowledge grants you. 

My focus this week has been on increasing my capacity for personal revelation. This seeking always starts with prayer, which is an interesting commandment. We are commanded to pray always-- not just when we need something or at morning and night. But like most commandments there is a clear blessing attached to obeying this commandment.

Pray always, that you may come off conqueror Doctrine and Covenants 10:5

Pretty amazing blessing. Conqueror over what? I think temptation; I think in providing for your family-- really in anything that is in line with the will of God, you will come out triumphant. 

Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you Doctrine and Covenants 19:38

This one is also powerful. Pouring out the spirit, I think, is in reference to the gift of the Holy ghost. Every person who has been baptized by proper authority has the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost-- IF they keep their covenants! I've spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to truly have the spirit to be with you always. I think someone who has the spirit will always be receptive to His voice, will have access to all the gifts of the spirit, and most importantly will be able to recognize all truth, because the holy ghost always testifies of truth. Therefore, if you can have the companionship of the spirit, God will unfold the heavens to you. He will not be able to withhold knowledge from you.

Pretty amazing promise! 

I can testify that living in a way that allows you to always have the spirit to be with you is worth it, and I would encourage you to not let the spirit be an idle companion! Seek! Ask God for answers to even mundane questions and let your relationship with him blossom! He will pour out wisdom and blessings because that is his character! He loves to bless his children, and He loves it when we choose to get to know Him better! 

Chapter 4 of Preach My Gospel is my favorite-- it offers all the logistics of how to receive revelation! Don't take all the temporal beauty and goodness of the Gospel and leave behind all of the heavenly power and knowledge. I love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

1. My first frozen lake

2. Moon picture that I would have missed if elder Enniss hadn't pointed it out

3. Choppa

4. Coping with not being able to watch top gun maverick for two years

5. Enniss and i! 

The Refiner's Fire

This week I have been taught by God. I remember when I was a younger boy I didn't have access to much digital content, so I ended up watching things I wouldn't normally have a desire to watch. I remember watching a documentary on how blacksmiths create blades. I don't remember everything but I remember that the smith heats up the ore and then pounds it into shape. He only has a small amount of time to shape it before it gets too cold and he has to heat it again. He does this three or four times until the ore has been molded into the blade he desires. The true mark of the blacksmith comes after (according to the documentary) when the blacksmith douses the blade in water. If the blade has been hammered too thin in too many places, the blade will crack and become useless. If the blade hasn't been shaped enough, it won't be hard enough to hold an edge. I've thought about this often since watching this documentary. This was dousing week for the friends we're teaching. Where, funnily enough, we invite them to be literally doused as part of an ordinance called baptism. This was the first real test of how masterful of a smith I've become. I will tell you guys-- I am a pretty poor smith. Some of my friends have been heated up and pounded and pounded with lessons and scriptures. Some of them have barely been shaped at all, and I in my inexperience thought they were all ready to be doused. Luckily, the advantage of missionary work over smithing is my ore can talk! They can say, "hey I need to be shaped a little more" or "put me back in that fire for a while." Or maybe they don't say anything, but they show you they're not ready by not responding to you:). What's hardest about this is that I'm just a small ingot of incredibly precious Godsteel myself, and so are all of you. Our Heavenly Smith wants to create a fantastic array of matchless swords. He has decided to send us to a very special forge called the Earth. Instead of just 4 or 5 hits he's decided to pound us with thousands of different hammers over approximately 80 years. He's also given us the ability to choose what kind of sword we want to become. Whether it's a rusty dirk or a breathtaking katana, it's all up to how we respond to those hits. I testify that He is never going to throw us out. He is always willing to remelt us through his Son's atonement and let us once again begin that process. I know He loves you and wants you to become like He is. Choose to become the most amazing thing you can become because that is where happiness lies. Not just in this forge but in all eternity. I love you guys! Also make sure to shoot me a friend request on Facebook! It helps me find more people to teach! 

-Elder Dahl

1. Sister Alger saving us after we ran out of gas haha

2. Picture from last transfer that I'm including because I just found it and I look really strong

What is Your Offering?

This week has been great! We had zone conference this week which is always a highlight! I got to see most of my friends and make some new ones. There are truly great examples all around me here in Minnesota. Our friend Pam drove thirty minutes to church this week and says she wants to come again next week! So exciting! Pam is someone that really inspires me, she wants to know more about Jesus and believes what we teach her! Pam was pretty surprised that we didn't pass an offerings plate around, she had saved some money to give. This almost brought me to tears, Pam has almost nothing. She works at a laundry place and lives alone in Aurora. She lives in a very humble home and struggles with smoking. Yet she has an offering to give to the Lord. It is so humbling to see people who have struggled their whole lives and yet still be willing to give. This reminded me of the story of the widow's farthing, where the Savior teaches that her sacrifice is greater than the whole treasury. I have been thinking about what my offering to the Lord is/ was/ should be. I have been blessed so so much and yet I still make mistakes. I've come to know it's not enough to just give up two years. It's not enough for me to just go through the motions. Or rather it is enough if I'm fine with not letting my mission change me. Which has become my biggest fear is that I'll come home the same person who left. Sometimes I get glimpses of the man that God has planned for me to become, and I get really excited but also somewhat daunted. Tolstoy eloquently stated, "The whole meaning and joy of life, … lay in the search for perfection and understanding God’s will.” I believe that Tolstoy is right, I have never been happier than right now. That doesn't mean I don't miss home-- I do. It doesn't mean I'm not excited to move on with my life, because I am. But I'm so grateful for this time that has been set aside for Elder Dahl to metamorphosize into the beautiful butterfly he can be;). I feel like my emails end up kind of spiraling and I'm sorry about that haha. If you have any questions for me shoot them my way! Love you guys! 

- Elder Dahl

1. Elder Mitchell and me 

2. The APs and me

3. Flick from our photo shoot on Lake Vermilion

4. Content that was denied for the local page haha. The font was unapproved I guess so I'm sending it to you guys so it can get some appreciation

Excelsior

This week has been wonderful! My comp and I get along better every day, and it was his birthday this week so we had two member dinners that sang to him which was awesome! He didn't want to make a big deal about it but I made sure to haha. I have learned so much about how to get people to talk! I think it's one of my talents, and I've seen such great blessings from hearing people open up about their lives and their testimonies! With investigators, it is imperative that you build a relationship with them so they can feel confident in asking questions and making commitments. I have realized that the secret to this is acting with "real intent." I listened to a devotional on this this week and it's been on my mind a lot. First, in order to act with real intent, you must limit distractions. You can't hope to build a relationship with someone or find success if you are focused on things that don't line up with your goal! Next, it is so important to plan out your goal-- to always ask why you're doing the things you're doing. As a missionary, my time is pretty strictly governed, at least on paper. But you can do all the things you're supposed to do and still not receive the growth or find the success you're expecting. Those things require spending your time with real intent. For example, choosing to pray not habitually, but faithfully. Choosing to study in order to learn, not to complete a book. I once had a training seminar on true sacrifice. The speaker talked about how sacrifice is not giving something up as much as dedicating it to a cause. As a missionary I have dedicated 2 years to the greatest cause of this world-- which is to help bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man-- and it is joyous! I love being able to give something of such great value and somehow still enrich myself in the process. I am humbled every day by my calling and mantle, I know more than ever that God calls the weak and simple to be his hands, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to be shaped by Him and His Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ. Let us ever move onward and upward. I love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

1. Comp picture! 

2. Mongolian doll! We watched speck of dust by Leonid and friends and there's an amazing Mongolian throat singer! Check it out! 

3. Birthday lunch at McDonald's! 

4. Siddhartha! Haha or just some random Buddha

5. More aurora borealis! 

6. More aurora borealis! 

How Firm a Foundation

This week has been wonderful! My companion and I were able to meet with way more people than we ever have before this week which was awesome! One thing that people can request through Come Unto Christ is a Bible study. Our friend Nate chose to do just that! My companion, however, said he barely knows the Bible so it was really fun. He's been spending a lot of personal studies in Revelation haha. I love the clarity the Book of Mormon brings to the Bible and how God's word can always bring peace to people and invite the Spirit! This week I had the opportunity to bear testimony at our ward's fast and testimony meeting. I also was able to do some service for a few members who work at the mine in Hibbing. Hibbing is famous as "the town that moved." They had built and were developing all this land when they realized that the iron deposits ran further south than they expected. Here in the Iron Range mining makes up probably 50 percent of the total employment opportunities. So they just moved everything! They demolished city hall and the schools and the member's house that was being built and moved it! This was an incredible story that reminded me of a scripture I read this week

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

I think that like the people of Hibbing sometimes we need to move our whole foundation. Not just the roof or the second floor but the whole thing! President Nelson talked about the temple foundation in conference, and how they were making it stronger so it can endure all that will happen. This was so important but more important I think is the preliminary process of checking the foundation! Let's check to make sure our foundation is built upon the rock of our Redeemer. Let's make sure that what we're building our life on isn't limiting our access to spiritual iron. If there are things that are, maybe consider a mighty change! Hibbing did it! Alma the younger (and elder, and the sons of Mosiah, and Jonah and Moses and practically every prophet) did it! I know we can too. I testify that enduring happiness comes from fulfilling the measure of our creation. From knowing that the offering of our will is acceptable to our God. I love you guys! Shoot me an email this week if you want to say hi! Wish my mom a happy birthday! She probably won't send this out until it's past haha, but it's today! She's at least 25!

-Elder Dahl

Virginia, Take 2

I wrote in my journal this week that I'm considering this the start of my mission. This week we had transfers, and I have a new trainer and 2 new roommates! Due to the perpetual uncertainty of international travel, we in Minnesota have had an influx in missionaries, leading to the great blessing of having four of us here in Virginia. My new trainer is a solid dude and I'm so blessed to learn from him. He's kind of quiet, but we're working on that;). 

This week I have really felt the joy of serving. Prior to my mission it wasn't something I looked forward to or ever signed up for, but it has taught me a little bit concerning the character of Christ. Before the condescension of God, besides prophets and true believers, most people understood deity in reference to one eternal law, Justice. They saw God as a great and terrible Being who condemns and punishes man for their numerous offenses. Those who understood and had faith in a Messiah as well as all those who have lived since his coming have had access to powerful witnesses of another eternal law, Mercy. This attribute of God is my favorite. From the second we draw breath in this mortal sphere, we are separated from God physically and from the first sin we are accountable for, we are separated from Him spiritually. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ we can obtain mercy. He paid for the great luxury of our mistakes! In this great test of life, He is one of those teachers who lets you retake the exam as many times as you need to get a 100. In fact, He has even promised to take the test with you! As I've had the opportunity to serve, I've been blessed to feel a small part of His all-encompassing love, even charity, that He feels towards all of His children. It is a humbling experience and so fulfilling. 

I can testify that living the gospel of Jesus Christ truly brings greater joy than anything else. I have seen it change lives; I've seen it change mine. I invite you guys to refocus your lives in accordance with your goals. Make sure what you are doing is leading you to be the person you want to become. There is an incredible peace in the knowledge that you are progressing-- even if it is small. Love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

Also, you guys are really good at praying! My finger is healed! It sounds like I'll have arthritis in the joint in 20 years ish, but if I'm not translated by then I'll have way bigger things to worry about;).

1. Cool picture at the church of Aslan/Mufasa clearly being tempted to break his fast by the devil

2. Our new zone leader Elder Kemp

3. Old zone leader Farnsworth 

4. Sister Kearns