Guanaco De Cora

Well, another week in paradise. Have to say this was one of the weirder weeks I’ve had. We got to travel to visit some different parts of the country this week. Starting on Monday with a four hours bus ride and finishing up a couple hours ago on another bus. We got to take a giant tour of the eastern part of El Salvador. Which brings me to my email title. Guanaco is a nickname that the people say about Salvadorians. After having the chance to visit some of my old areas, and visit some old friends, I think I can officially say I’m Guanaco de cora.  It was a pretty cool week. I learned a lot. Got to work with a lot of other missionaries. Talking with a lady this week, even though this lady was a little crazy, I learned a really important lesson.  There is a lot of stuff we don’t know. There is a lot of stuff we don’t understand. I’ll be the first to tell you that God answers prayers. I will be the first to tell you that he will help us understand challenges and questions we have. But God is not going to give us 100% of the knowledge or every single answer to every single question in the way we want it. There is an answer to everything and God is willing to give it to us but we have to understand that it is not going to all come as clearly or as immediately as we want it. This is a very hard lesson for me to understand because I didn’t understand why. If God really is a powerful all knowing and loving Heavenly Father, why won’t he just give me what I think I need? I found my answer in the scriptures.  

Alma 32: 17-18 

17 Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.
18 Now I ask, is this faith? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.

  The whole point of our lives is to learn to walk by faith. We can’t know things for sure because when we know we don’t have to believe. I’m not saying its bad to know, because I think that’s something we all have to do is learn and look for more. The point is if we can learn to choose to believe or in other words make the active decision to follow God without knowing 100% all of the details, that is when we will see blessings in our lives. That is when we will progress towards our Heavenly Father. The whole gospel, everything I have spent these last 17months teaching wouldn’t make sense at all if the gospel was centered on having a perfect knowledge because when we talk about coming unto Christ, what we are talking about is a question of faith.  Faith is a decision we make to choose to believe. Belief is a choice. It is not a reaction. The president of our mission taught me this week that evidence doesn’t build faith, it rewards it. If you think the answers you need will come in the form of knowledge, just know that knowledge doesn’t usually come until after we have decided to have faith. For those of you who are reading this that might not be members of the church of Jesus Christ or those who have doubts or questions, I’ll just say this: instead of worrying about what you know, worry about how you feel. If you want to know, or if you even have the slightest desire,  know  that answers from God don’t come in the form of knowledge or great signs from heaven. They come in quiet reassurances and small experiences that will fortify your choice to believe. 

Also we found a snake in the road and took a bunch of pictures. Enjoy! Hope everyone is staying up and keep on the grind. As one little kid shouted to me while we were walking through the street, “Don’t talk to strangers.” 

Saluuu

Elder Moulton