The Balm of Gilead

This week I've been trying to focus on improving my teaching. Teaching in English is nice because I can communicate clearly but it's easy to let your skills stagnate. Our friend Mai is deaf, so I've had to learn how to explain very very simply and clearly. We also ran into an Amway guy who is trying to recruit my companion. My companion thinks he's getting help with his future career and that this guy is interested in the gospel. It's super funny. He even asked president for approval to leave our area to go to a business meeting. I'm super excited for that haha. 

It's so important to learn the needs of the people we teach. Someone said that the "gospel answers the questions of the soul." Unfortunately most people are not very forthcoming about what the questions of their souls are. I think the ultimate question is "how do I find joy in this life?" My ward is a powerful testimony that it is only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. There's a family in our ward whose son committed suicide 2 years ago, yet they have joy. There's a couple who were engaged but the week before the wedding, the fiance got kicked in the head by a horse, and he was in a coma for 6 months and then was paralyzed from the neck down. They are married have two kids and have joy. There's a family whose mom refused to get the vaccine and died from Covid. Joy is a choice. It's sometimes excruciatingly difficult, but it's possible. Life is a fiery crucible where happiness can be forged. In studying the character of Christ, we learn that He always looks to reach out to others even when he is himself suffering. After Jesus fasted for forty days and was tempted by Satan we read:

"Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him" (Matthew 4:11.)

It's logical that He would need a little pick me up after such a trying experience, but we learn in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible that that was not what happened. 

"And now Jesus knew that John was cast into prison, and he sent angels, and, behold, they came and ministered unto him (John)" (JST, Matthew 4:11)

Jesus was tired. He was hungry. Probably spiritually drained. Yet he still has the ability to turn his focus outward and receive that strength that only comes from knowing someone is even more tired than you. Our ward gets this. They are amazing and an incredible example to me of the whole point of church. They serve and minister and love. I'm so grateful I get to learn from them! I love the gospel, and Joseph Smith for restoring it! Happy Valentine's Day you guys!

-Elder Dahl

What Manner of Men Ought Ye to Be

So I'm pretty excited about our friend Jacob; he fasted on Sunday and has been reading and is excited to meet with us. It's refreshing to see someone who understands the merit of the gospel and the claims we're making. Sharing the gospel is way easier than sales-- I feel like the restoration if understood is so thought provoking, and the Book of Mormon is such compelling evidence. 

This week I was thinking about home a little, which was kinda weird. I'm excited for my next stage, but I'm not ready at all. I love being a missionary and teaching. I wish people had questions more. I feel like a lot of people that the average missionary spends time with are people who are acted upon, instead of those who act. They just kind of go with the flow-- they're willing to chat and do what the missionary says because they don't want to disappoint them. It's very disheartening to me-- it's so important to stand for something. Choose what you want, and stick to it! If you have no foundation, it's so easy to be blown about by every wind of doctrine. 

There's a Pokémon called ditto that just shifts into whoever it's with at the time. I feel like a lot of people are like that. They'll meet with us and be all happy and willing to learn but then go home and not keep their commitments. Not even think, "Oh that's against the commandments I was just taught about." The problem is the people that are committed to something and are bound by their word are often closed minded. They've already found a belief system or a moral code, and so they are unwilling to entertain new ideas. This makes my role somewhat difficult and has caused me to think more and more about why the Lord calls missionaries. 

In this day and age the internet allows every earnest seeker to really discover what our message is. I'm becoming more and more convinced that my mission is just for me-- to help me become an eternal disciple of Jesus Christ. God can do his own work. He knows who's prepared for the gospel, but he calls me because He knows that by my service, my testimony will be strengthened. My capacity to serve has increased. My willingness to obey and my desire to keep covenants are the primary goal. The Church is just a vehicle to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ and help people live it. I think the mission is a vehicle to help young adults become steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God. There are other fruits for sure, but having a people that are "armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory" is the primary focus of these latter days. 

I hope you guys will quit being wishy washy and choose to have faith in something. Faith is a principle of action! Don't be acted upon! Only by developing consistency can the Lord trust you. Quantum physics reveals that depending on how its observed, light can act as either a particle or a wave. Don't be like light! I don't mind if you're a particle or a wave but if you're going to be a particle be a particle always-- even when it's hard. Even when it seems like being a wave would make you happier. This world will make something of you if you do not choose to make something of it. I testify that God will make more of you than you can of yourself. All that's left is to choose to do so. That's the whole point of this life, to just choose what you want. It's a giant buffet, and God will let you get whatever you want. Find out what you want and then eat it! I want to be happy, I want a family that loves and serves each other. I want to be free from the pain and misery breaking God's laws brings. I love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

1. Bowling

2. Funny picture

3. Goliath working out

4. Canes

The God Who Weeps

This week was transformative. Every morning I get the chance to run and then shower-- it's very meditative for me. Having no digital distractions has let me shift my brain into hyperdrive. People say you only use 10 percent but I'm clocking in at least 24. Elder Fifita and I decided to do personal study first thing in the morning so I get all of my exercise and get ready time to ponder what I've been studying. I'm in the Book of Mormon every day, but usually only for a chapter. 

There's a great talk by Elder Maxwell about this verse,

And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them (1 Nephi 2:12.)

It is my claim that knowledge of the dealings of that God is essential to survive spiritually-- especially in these last days. Something that breaks my heart is how few people in the world study the scriptures. A few read them but either don't obtain the capacity to understand them or don't put forth the time and effort to truly learn of God's nature and character. I don't profess to be perfect in my knowledge, but I am grateful that I have learned line upon line as I've diligently studied. A very interesting part of the first vision is the Saviors rebuke "that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.'”

The Lord doesn't say the churches are an abomination themselves, but their creeds-- which are men coming together and deciding what God should be like. These creeds range from God being formless-- everywhere and nowhere at once to Him being passionless and that man is created only to glorify God. God says of himself that his work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It is powerful to think that He, the greatest of all, has set his heart upon us. The scriptural evidence for this is found in the account of Enoch, 

How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? (Moses 7:29.)

Enoch doesn't ask for the reason behind heaven's tears, but rather how are the tears even possible? Clearly Enoch's perception of God with His greatness and eternal eye did not expect that the actions of man could bring such distress to an omnipotent being. One must reason that God is not exempt from emotional pain but that his pain must be as infinite as his love, in order for him to feel compassion. The reason for this weeping is interestingly not wickedness or disobedience but because mankind is miserable, because they are suffering. 

"misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?" (Moses 7:37.)

This is the character of God. This is the God who weeps. All He wants is for us to be happy. He's told us exactly how to do it. All the odds are stacked in our favor, all of His legions of angels are employed in the cause of our eternal joy. The ultimate manifestation of this love was manifest in the Savior's willingness to drink that bitter cup. In one of my favorite hymns, "This Is The Christ", the question is posed, "how many drops of blood were shed for me?" Far too many. I don't want to cause God any more pain or make the heavens weep. I want to be happy-- now and eternally. The most radical thing I've learned on my mission is that joy is different from pleasure and far more desirable. I love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

Families Can Be Together Forever!

This week was amazing! I had a wonderful time in Virginia with the quad, it was pretty sad to say goodbye to them. They are pretty chill dudes even if they got on my nerves sometimes haha. I was pretty certain I was getting transferred so I was packing and looking forward to new adventures. Elder Hutchens and I really got along so I was nervous that I would have a tough comp or at least one that I didn't have anything in common with. Transfer news brought me Elder Fifita! He is awesome! I didn't realize that there are missionaries who are outgoing and actually enjoy talking and teaching. It's nice to have someone who has things to say in lessons. I got transferred to Elk River which was exactly what I needed. I forgot that church normally has families in it! Having the primary kids sing a song and filling up the whole stand almost brought tears to my eyes. I have such a strong testimony of the joy of families. I remember I went to EFY one year and the theme was What Matters Most. The session director talked about all the trials he had in his life and then each time he would put up his family picture and say I chose to keep the commandments because I was not going to give up this (in reference to the family picture). What mattered most to him was his family. Ever since then I've always tried to think about my own family picture, and kind of where I want to be when I'm there. What qualities skills and habits does the husband and father I want to be need to have? As a missionary, I get to develop a lot of those things. Believe it or not, my apartment is clean. I hang up my clothes and use my hamper. I make my bed. All very adultish things. I've been thinking a lot about covenants lately. Ultimately, our goal is to find people who are willing to make and keep covenants with God. A big indicator of this capability is if they are able to keep commitments with us. If they can't find the time to read a chapter after they committed to, how can we expect them to keep a covenant with God to obey all his commandments? Covenants are one of the distinctive tenets of our church. They allow us to truly build a relationship with God and become a disciple of him. Before my mission, I had the opportunity to break a promise I had made. It seemed like I would be a fool to spend my time in the way that I had committed to. I told my friend that there was no way it would work and I would have to break my promise. He taught me a powerful lesson that day. Honor and keeping covenants is worth more than any amount of money, any amount of worldly success. I love this scripture in Luke, 

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62.)

The context of this story is that Jesus is calling his disciples. One of them says, I will come, but let me bury my father first. One says, let me just say goodbye to my family. Jesus teaches the powerful principle of commitment. Heaven doesn't need people who are willing to do the right thing some of the time. Or people who keep their word most of the time. Heaven needs people who understand that without covenants, there can be no progression. Obedience is the first law of heaven. I'm forever grateful I chose to keep my word. This world is full of oath breakers, and the natural man is a selfish, greedy beast. Learn from the little children in your lives. Become more like them: submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father (Mosiah 3:19.) I testify that this is where joy is found. I love you guys! I love my Savior Jesus Christ! 

-Elder Dahl

1-4. Members feeding us

5. My new shampoo for Elk River

6. Comp pic

7. Me and the Schleads 

8. AP Kerr

9-11. Elk River

An Instrument in the Hands of God

This week was better. We were supposed to have exchanges with the zone leaders, but because of "Covid" they were canceled. Tough. But ultimately I know what I need to work on. I've been grinding on finding. I want to always have people to teach because that's when I feel most fulfilled and happiest. So this week I decided to cast my net on the other side of the boat. Or at least a wider net haha. I cold called 200 random people this week. A few of them were willing to chat but then trickled out. One of them watched The Restoration video and wants a Book of Mormon! I've also been doing a lot of Facebook finding. In my dad's favorite book in the Book of Mormon it says, 

And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell (Helaman 3:7.)

In Minnesota, we have lots of cement. I know I can become expert at working with it, but it's hard to improve when you're just complaining about how there's no wood. One of my most desired attributes is humility. I think humility means ownership. Being accountable and teachable for your stewardship. Those who are humble and take ownership don't complain. They don't blame others. They become exceedingly expert in whatever situation they are placed in. A great example of this is Alma and the sons of Mosiah. They were pretty good at destroying the church. I assume they were pretty prideful. Then they had a pretty humbling experience. An angel appeared and told them to knock it off. He says, 

"Alma, go thy way, and seek to destroy the church no more, that their prayers may be answered, and this even if thou wilt of thyself be cast off" (Mosiah 27:16.)

Alma then passes out and spends three days in the darkest abyss. Repenting nigh unto death. Racked with eternal torment. Pretty humbling stuff. He then decides to serve a mission! Serving a mission for him must have been some tough cement. He'd gotten really, really good at tearing down cement, but building was foreign and hard. He was "preaching the word of God in much tribulation, being greatly persecuted by those who were unbelievers, being smitten by many of them" (Mosiah 27:32.) 

I think it's pretty easy to complain when people are smiting you. And I don't know if Alma was perfect, but we don't have record of him doing so. Because of humility, the sons of Mosiah and Alma became

"instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer. And how blessed are they! For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth" (Mosiah 27:37.) 

The sons of Mosiah got good at service, at being imprisoned, at teaching the gospel. At being humble. At being disciples of Jesus Christ. The miracle of the gospel is that it can give you a foundation that allows adaptability. The gospel is the power to have joy no matter what your circumstances, because your focus is eternal. I love being a missionary. I wish I was perfect at it; I'm not. I wish I was better, but I'm so grateful for the examples and knowledge I have. I can't wait to continue to grow! I love you guys! 

-Elder Dahl

1. Paul

2. Levi Cornelson

3. Elder Hutchens drying off after his shower

4. Elder Higa

5. Exchanges with DL

Men Are That They Might Have Joy!

This week was pretty slow. I'm gaining a testimony of how important keeping commitments is. I've really been leaning into finding through the authorized digital methods. Tons of Facebook, cold calling and seeking referrals from members. I just don't get some of these people haha. They'll be like oh yeah I would love to come to church! Then not show up, or set a time for a lesson and then not answer our call. The most annoying is when I ask a question on Facebook and they just leave me unread. When I get home, I'll always respond to people. It's important and respectful. But whatever.

I had an exchange with my district leader, Elder Gregory, which was awesome. He's about to go home which is always crazy to me. Super fun to learn from him and hang out with some new elders. When people come to Virginia they always want to play ping pong with us. I feel bad because they usually have average talent at best and very little practice. I didn't realize this before my mission but I have insanely high ping pong aptitude, and combined with a significant amount of practice, these two transfers have placed me in the highest echelon of ping pong players. It's a gift and a curse because I hate to just obliterate the new elders. Maybe it's good to keep them humble haha.

This week I did tons of study on the Spirit. It has always seemed like such a nebulous thing to me. It seems like every person of faith claims that they have the Spirit and so teaching about the gift of the Holy Ghost always tends to fall flat. They don't seem to understand the benefit or difference that gift can make. I am so grateful for our prophet! He has continually stressed the importance of personal revelation and hearing the Savior's voice. As missionaries, we are promised inspiration to know what to do and have been given the power to do it. I've learned that God does not speak to people who don't listen. I say speak but I feel like a better word is whisper, or nudge. For a long time, I questioned why the Spirit is such a difficult thing to recognize and heed. Doesn't God want us to know He's there and do the right thing? I think I often forget the purpose of mortality. God already knows that we'll do the right thing in his presence. We proved that premortally. The whole reason he sent us here was to "prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them" (Abraham 3:25.) Without God looking over our shoulder. Without him yelling at us all the time. It is necessary for us to "walk by faith." It's the only we can become like Him. That's why the Spirit is most often manifested as a still small voice because if it was obvious, it would rob us of our faith. "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true" (Alma 32:21.) How grateful I am to have the opportunity to develop faith and yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. Mortality is a wonderful gift and a school of joy! We're supposed to learn what joy is and how to have it all the time! That's why the commandments and covenants exist. That's why Jesus Christ came into the world. That's why Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered and martyred. That's why I'm on a mission. It is a noble cause. The most noble. I love you guys! Thank you for shaping my being, and being an example to me!

-Elder Dahl

1. Zone leader exchange with the other elders

2. Elder Kemp said I was the funniest guy he's ever met because of a Lincoln log comment haha

3. Moments before teaching a lesson, glasses to make me look more intelligent

4. Pday hoodie

Become Like God or Die Trying

It's crazy to think I've been a missionary for a year already. I didn't believe people when they said it goes by so fast but it really does! I'm so grateful for all I learned and excited for the last part of my service in Minnesota! This week was fast Sunday and I had the opportunity to bear my testimony. It was -30 that day so not many people came to church so it was a pretty easy decision to make! I'm amazed at how much my testimony has grown and how comfortable I've become speaking from the pulpit. It's easier when everyone in the audience is your friend I think. One of our friends we visit every week passed away on Friday. It was kind of sad, but ultimately I'm so happy that he is free from his mortal body. There is no sadness in death because of Jesus Christ! The grave has no victory! As I've been pondering mortality, I've come up with something I want to hang up in my house or put on a t-shirt or something. The purpose of this life is to "Become like God, or die trying!" -Elder Dahl. For most of us, the latter. This simple phrase helps me focus with an eternal perspective. Every decision should be weighed on the scale of whether or not it changes us to be more like God. One of the most interesting things about the gospel is that any way you write it out, it makes complete sense to be the perfect disciple. There is no downside! Obedience brings temporal joy and blessings as well as eternal ones! The battle has already been won but the sides have not yet been chosen. Let's exercise our puny brains and recognize that it's probably a good idea to be on the winning team. In studying the Old Testament, I love Abraham's words, 

Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan (Abraham 2:16.)

Sometimes I think I forget how miserable life has been for the majority of the existence of humanity. There is no TV or internet or video games on the camel ride to Canaan. There's no car or plane, just desert skies and tumbleweed. But Abraham says that eternity was his covering. That all of the pain and misery of mortality didn't matter because he could view with an eternal perspective. I wish I was perfect at this, but such is the road of life. I'm so grateful to be born in this wonderful day and age, but intimidated by the staggering number of distractions from our goal. Clinging to the iron rod has never been so difficult, I think. Sweet is the peace the gospel brings! I love you guys! Shoot me an email if you want to chat! Happy new year! 

-Elder Dahl

1. Apparently a very off putting picture because as we were working to find people they would ask who we were and I would send them the picture and introduce us. They didn't respond after that. 

2. Zonked in the car

3. Trivia night! The ZLs banned it shortly thereafter

4. Ap Oilar before he heads home

5. My dear friend Elder Mitchell, he is such a good example to me! And so fashionable

6. ZL Kemp

7. Aps