Be Bold!

Elder Griffiths near a monument with a symbol for each branch
of the military. Notice the eagle, globe, and anchor. We're partial 
to the Marine Corps in our family because Elder Griffiths' brother is a Marine.

Truthfully, I've learned a lot about faith. I think it's the most overlooked aspect of the gospel sometimes. 

Faith is what makes everything work and yet we don't work on increasing it sometimes. I had that problem for a while. I noticed that when we would go contact people in what appeared to be an awkward situation, I would doubt about whether or not the person would listen to us. 

This is what faith can do: We were contacting people at a park. On weekends, there tends to be a lot of birthday parties at this park. People will all gather under a pavilion and it makes it hard to approach them. The other day, I saw a group of four people setting up for a birthday party. Three of them were on the phone and the remaining one was sitting there looking at her phone. These people were waiting for more people to show up to the party. I realized that Heavenly Father understood that I was nervous to approach groups of people who appeared to be busy and so I had the faith that if I talked to them they would listen. Well, we walked up to the group and I asked them if they wanted to say a prayer. None of them responded except for the girl who wasn't talking on the phone. We ended up saying a prayer with her and teaching her the Restoration. 

Basically, the best way I've found that builds my faith is by recognizing that the thought I'm having is good and acting on it and then relying on God to consecrate that action for good. Being bold enough to say and do what the Spirit tells you to do is what makes us into good missionaries.

Get Out of the Pool

Elder Walton (Elder Griffiths' companion who he
describes as "a hungry boy") post-meal and happy.

Something I've been studying about is the concept of faith and works being inseparable. A lot of people we talk to always seem to bring that up so I decided to look deeply into it. 

The basic conclusion I've come to is that sincere study of the scriptures shows how this view is narrow sighted. As I've looked into the blessings we receive from acting I've come to realize just how closely linked faith and works are. Faith is truly dead without works. Otherwise how can we show our faith except through works? 

Christ's gospel is not an idle one. He expects us to be perfect like our Heavenly Father. That means that we can't sit back, say we're a sinner, and just expect to be saved. 

I like to think of it like standing in a pool full of water. As you stand in this water you say, "I want to be dry. Pool boy! Hand me a towel." The pool boy then hands you a towel and you proceed to try and dry yourself off. However, remember that you are still in the pool, surrounded by water. You cannot dry yourself off while still standing in the pool. You must first get out of the pool, and only then can the towel do its job. 

I invite each of you to ponder this analogy. It may not be a perfect one, but it's something I came up with that helped me understand this concept.

A New Companion

Elder Griffiths with his new companion, Elder Walton (center).

I have a new companion. Elder Walton is 6'8'' and he plays basketball. Some of you may be surprised by that, but I promise it's true. He says he's still waiting for the day when someone says a "tall" joke that is actually funny. He eats a lot of food and he's a good cook, too. He's from Bountiful, Utah and he's been on his mission about seven or so months. He is a Spanish-speaking missionary, so it helps when we're trying to teach people. He is a hard worker and loves the gospel.

Stay tuned for miracles that will happen!

It's Called Missionary "Work" for a Reason

Just be yourself.

Having a strong work ethic can make or break your mission. I know there are days where I don't want to go out and do things because I feel exhausted, but I understand that what I signed up for is called missionary "work" for a reason. 

Work never stops, even when we die. In fact, think about how much work it is for our Heavenly Father to be doing all that He does. "For behold, this is my WORK and my glory..." (Moses 1:39). I think my work ethic has been strengthened as well. Every day when I feel the joy that comes from working it makes me that much more motivated to go out and do it again. 

There are some missionaries who don't understand the principle of work, and they tend to have a pessimistic attitude towards their mission. They complain about how hard it is and they don't get a lot done. I'll admit, at first I probably leaned more toward that side, but then I realized what a waste of time it is to be out on a mission without wanting to do as much as you possibly can. I don't think I've had many moments of laziness on my mission, but my motivation wasn't as strong as it could've been. Understanding that work can bring happiness is something that has really turned my mission around.

Striking a pose.

Elder Griffiths' Christmas tree, complete with an
appropriate tree topper and pug (family pet photos) ornaments. 

Merry Christmas from Plant City

Elder Griffiths (far right) with other missionaries
at a mission Christmas devotional.

On Christmas Eve we had the other Elders stay the night at our apartment so we could have a Christmas morning together. Then after presents, we did some personal studying (Christmas is not an excuse to forget to study Christ's gospel) and then we did Skype calls (woot woot!). Then came the food.

Our first "dinner" appointment was at 1 p.m. I had the best ham I've ever tasted in my life and then we had pumpkin pie. Immediately after that appointment we went to another appointment we'd been invited to. There was steak and potatoes and we also did a white elephant gift exchange. It was super fun and the lady gave all the missionaries gifts as well. Then right after that we went to another appointment where we had dessert. It was apple pie, but by that point I felt like a pumpkin so I'm not sure the type of pie made a difference.

That basically sums up our Christmas. However, I took time throughout the day to think about what the holiday actually means. I'm grateful that we have a Savior that took all our sins up Himself, suffered 'til death, and then broke the bonds of death. An interesting thought I had this week is that our sins caused Him pain, and yet instead of being angry at us for cause that pain, He still loves us. It changed my perspective on Christ's character. I hope all of you took some time to think about Him. If not, it's never too late.

More smiles from the devotional.