Week 79: Letter vs. spirit of the law

Whenever a rule or standard comes into conflict with what I want to do, I get around it by saying, "I'm more of a 'spirit-of-the-law' kind of guy, anyway." It's always a joke, of course. Maybe some see the spirit of the law as a "looser" interpretation of the letter. Perhaps others suppose the letter of the law was created for those weaker than they, so they define themselves slightly different standards and call it the spirit of the law. In reality, the spirit of the law only operates within the realm of the letter of the law. 

Letter of the law: what the rule/standard/guideline/law/commandment tells you to do.

Spirit of the law: when the letter of the law doesn't specify what to do in a given situation, use your best judgment based on what you know about yourself, others, and the situation to make a decision in accordance with the reason or intent for which the letter of the law was created.

Some laws are higher than others. When Jesus was asked about what the great commandment was, he answered,

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

"This is the first and great commandment.

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

In my mind, that means living any law profits you to the same extent to which you love God and your neighbor. 

If you see someone else doing something wrong, your correction may be appropriate, but make sure you do it according to what Jesus taught. In other words, love the person you're correcting. 

Amulek had a few words to say about charity:

"Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men" (Alma 34:29).

So, don't be as dross. Mormon tells us what we can do to obtain charity:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

"But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. 

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen" (Moroni 7:46-48).

Look for opportunities to apply this counsel; it shouldn't be too hard to find one. My fondest memories from all my transfers have come from when I made a greater effort to love my companion and love the people. Furthermore, make a sincere effort to obey all commandments with exactness, and more importantly, remember the reason behind them. Ask God for help in applying the spirit of the law. 

1-7. Some hike

8. Uhh... anglický?

9. Yeah, I work out!

9. Yeah, I work out!

12. Môj spoločník :) 

11. Elder Akina left his umbrella at someone's house. How did he try to get it back? 

Week 76: Anglický? and Week 78: He can command fifty.

Čauko.

Week 76: Anglický?

One Brazilian member here suggested that I start conversations in English.  He said people would say, "Oh, that's so cool you speak English!" or something similar.  Wow, that's a good idea.  Let me give that a try.  So I tried it on a tram.  I saw two teenage girls in a nearby seat:

"Hello, do you speak English?" I asked.

"No," they said in unison and then got back to their mobile devices.

Alright, round 2.  I approached a man probably a little older than I, but before I got a word out, he said in English, "Go #€@& yourself."  I've started few conversations in English since then.

Week 78: He can command fifty.

Elder Akina and I woke up early to get to the foreign police station. We were going to wait in line on behalf of the new missionary, Sister Dickson. We got there at 4 am. Waiting there was a man with a sketchy-looking paper, and he told us to put our names on it so we could keep track of who came first. There were 16 before us, but they were waiting in their cars. I signed Sister Dickson's name. 

A few minutes later, a man came up to me and asked for the paper. I told him who had it. He then asked, "Where are you from?" 

"America." 

"Are you a missionary?" 

"Yes. Have you met us before?"

"Yeah, in Banská Bystrica." 

"I lived there."

"His name was Alrie." 

"Aillery?" 

"Yes! That's it!" 

"I'M Aillery!" 

So we had a fun conversation for a few hours. 

Later, the sisters came to take our place, but more people had arrived (that's why we came at such an unholy hour, so we could be first.) The foreign police office was not going to be opened for another hour, but people were already starting to crowd around the door. We were getting worried that no one would listen to the unofficial list that was started. Elder Akina took things into his own hands. He asked the original man with the paper where it was. He pointed to some lady. Elder Akina then retrieved the list and started lining everyone up, and they just listened. There were upwards of 40 of them. It was a sight to behold. I thought of a verse from the Book of Mormon that applies to him (1 Nephi 31):

"Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?"

Sorry, Mom, your son's an idiot. 

After church, the sisters invited us to visit one of their investigators in the town Štúrovo, which is right by the Hungarian border. That brought me back to my first transfer when we had been there visiting a member. What added more to my nostalgia was the town's train station... funny story. At that time, there were four missionaries serving in Nitra, and one night we were all returning from a visit with that member in Štúrovo. After we bought our tickets, there was still a bit of time before our train departed, so we played BANG! the card game (if I remember correctly). We got on the train when it arrived (continued playing, of course), but after some time I realized that I had lost my ticket. And my junior pass. Shoot. After checking my pockets once or ten times, we decided to say a prayer together. In the prayer, I told God I was willing to face the consequences of my irresponsibility, but if there was any way I could get out of paying for another ticket (full price without the junior), I'd like that. Well, the ticket man came around and Elder Akina started to explain the situation (I didn't speak Slovak much). The man waved his hand and just let it go. Fíha! The only bad news was that I lost the proof of purchase for my junior, so I had to rebuy it... not a cheap thing. 

So we told that story to the sisters on the way down to Štúrovo. We all chuckled at what an IDIOT I had been.

*one interesting visit later*

We were on the train back and the ticket man came around. I reached in my right pocket but found neither ticket nor junior. You're kidding. I checked my pockets, checked my bag. Nothing. Checked my pockets again, checked my bag again. Nothing again. The ticket man saw I was struggling so he told me he would get back to me and left. Elder Akina's face was like the face of a disappointed trainer who's greenie hadn't learned his lesson. Good news! I thought I had found my ticket, but I had actually found the proof of purchase for my junior, which, oddly enough, looks exactly like a ticket, just says different stuff on it. The man returned.

"Any luck?" he said.

"No, but I have this." I handed him the proof of purchase so he would perhaps give me a discounted ticket price. 

He stared at it for a few awkward seconds and said, "This is not valid." I thought it was valid, it should be for a year. I tried to peek at it but he didn't let me. Then something I can't explain happened. He stamped it and gave it back to me and then left without another word. Now I have a stamped proof of purchase for my junior. 

Week 75: Čas kráča

As I look back on my mission, it seems like so much has happened since I started to now.  As I was caught in this thought, I said to Elder Akina, "Holy cow, time is flying!"  Then I thought about it some more and realized... yeah, it really has felt like I've been here a while.  Time isn't flying, but rather it's going at its normal pace, as it should.  Time is walking.

***

The other day, we were walking by a lake and approached a couple sitting on a bench.  

"Don't even try, we're atheists," said the woman pretty much straight off the bat.  

"Oh," we said.  "Are you from around here, though?"

Them: "Yeah, are you?"

Us: "No, we're from America."

Him (in English): "So we can speak English, if it is easier for you."

Her (in Slovak): "But they need to practice Slovak!"

Him: "But really guys, we're Catholics and aren't interested in changing our religion."

Her: "Are we?  I told them we were atheists."

Then he just stared at her with a blank expression and we thought it was a good time to walk away.

***

We're having a change of mission presidents.  President Pohořelický's mission has come to an end.  President Gehring should be fun, though.  He's from Washington State.

Something must have hit him really hard during studies.

Got 'em.

When the bishopric calls on Saturday and asks you to give a talk on Sunday.

Drazí přátelé. Tři nádherné roky jsou za námi. Že to ale uteklo. Děkujeme všem za přátelství, podporu a úžasné duchovní zážitky. Jsme a navždy budeme vděční za tuto zkušenost a vše, co jsme se naučili. Misionáři - vždy budete v našich srdcích a mysli. Dear Friends, Three beautiful years are now behind us. It flew by. Thank you all for your friendship, support and amazing spiritual experiences. We are eternally grateful for this experience and all that we have learned. Missionaries - you will always be in our hearts and minds.

The search is over.