What Up!

Hey thanks a bunch for your email Dad that was good. I wish I could read that book. The atonement just blows my mind. I have had quite a few deep conversations with some elders here but they are usually on the same level of understanding as me so its difficult. I just wish I had something that laid it out perfectly. So if that book isn't a huge one you should send it to me when you are done and I can read it really quickly. Anyway it was good hearing from you guys during the week. This week has just flown by. It must be because of the holidays. I am really enjoying that here. I have like big events to look forward to here. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New Years. They are like big checkpoints in the MTC experience.

So since this week went by fast I can't really recall anything major happening. I think I am still just blown away by Christmas. I never got to tell you like the other half of what he (Elder Bednar) said. I don't really remember what I left off at on my last email, but its all good anyway. So he told us not to be Cookie Monsters and even made the noises that the cookie monster makes. He told us that the spirit of the cookie monster is the natural man in us that wants only for ourselves and wants it now, like the monster with cookies. Using this he talked about how we need to learn to be more selfless. He also taught that it is important to learn the true characteristics of Christ and to follow them. This really stuck out to me because, in my patriarchal blessing it talks about how I should really be striving to learn of Christ in that way so I can strive to emulate the man he was. I've made it a goal to really study Him. Jesus the Christ is a WONDERFUL book. It's long, but I eat that up.

The other part he shared was what is true conversion. I think we could talk for days on that subject. Are we really converted to the gospel of Christ? Go ahead and ask yourself that. I would have to say no. I obviously have faith in him and I want to strive to be like him, but am I completely converted to him? It's really hard to explain, but it definitely gets you thinking. Especially with the fact that I am supposed to go out and convert these people to the gospel. The thing that I have learned or think I have learned is that I may not be COMPLETELY converted, but I am definitely on track to it. It's more like we are all slowly but surely converting, and my job as a missionary is to get the peeps of NC to start their journey to full conversion and that starts with faith, repentance, and baptism. I can't have in my mind that baptism is the ultimate goal. I've noticed that with a lot of missionaries they teach their investigators with just the ultimate goal of baptism and then they are set. But the thing is that if we teach with the ultimate goal being eternal life with our Father in Heaven then I think the step of baptism shouldn't be as scary or crazy to these investigators. I don't know myabe I'm just trying to think too hard. Tell me what you think. :)

Anyway for these deep questions or conversations I have taken a challenge by Elder Bednar. He said that we should take just One question at a time and read the BOM with only that question in mind. Read, ponder, pray, and then write a short summary of what you have learned. He promised us that we will receive personal revelation like no other, and that by the time we are his age we should have like 400 BOM's in our own personal library each with a different subject/question that they are dedicated to. I'm pretty excited. I am really being fed up here and it's not by the nasty food.

Well I love you all very much. Keep the love coming this way. Hey can you send me the address to my mission home, I didn't write it down or bring it with me. Oh and it is really nice hearing about Russell. Well I hope everyone is nice and healthy. You guys are the best and if you have any materials that you think can help me, just send them on over. (Along with some pepsi and maybe some fruit snacks. Food here is really getting boring.) :)

Con todo mi corazone,

Elder Burnham.