[Family and friends, here is the letter we received from Joseph today. There are pictures which I will post on the blog later today! BWS]
Dear All,
I am doing well. This week went well and Elder Peterson and I feel great about this next week.
Ochir and Aggy, the Mongolian couple we are teaching, to all appearances, look "golden." Yesterday, when they came to church, Aggy said that since meeting with us, she has felt more blessed than ever before in her life. This was great to hear from her. Last Friday we went over to their home with the Branch President and sat down with them at their dinner table. We asked how their reading had gone during the past week and they reported that they had read the Testimonies of the Three and Eight Witnesses, the Testimony of Joseph Smith, and into the third chapter of First Nephi. This was great for us to hear, and even more so when they said that they loved reading it. We then talked about Jesus Christ, explaining who he is and what he did for us. Then we watched the Restoration film in Mongolian. We watched it with them, as well as their younger daughter and her cousin. They loved it. Aggy especially expressed how good she felt while watching it. They got along great with President and they sat by his wife yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. They were welcomed very well into the branch, felt the spirt strongly, and said that they felt very good there. Their family is amazing and Elder Peterson and I are looking forward to our meeting with them very much this week.
Also, we have a new member in the Branch. Erin is here from Vancuvor, Canada on some sort of Rotary exchange. She will be here for ten months attending school here in Třebíč. She is a really nice girl and seems like she will fit into the branch here great. I had the pleasure of translating for her in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. It actually went rather well. To be fair, my companion was one of the speakers (I understand missionaries much better than native speakers) and the other speaker talked about the Articles of Faith, which coincidently I spent the last week learning in Czech (I can recite the first nine right now. Ten through thirteen are this week). [These are the thirteen of our basic, important beliefs. BWS] Sunday School was much harder. To be honest, I was lost the whole time. We are studying the Old Testament, and we were reading in the book of Hosea, which I still do not understand, even after going over it in English last night. [Hosea is definitely tough to understand in ANY language! BWS] I also am finding that in some instances and areas, my Czech vocabulary is limited. Out of mild curiosity I asked one of the members the other day if the Třebíč Hockey team is good. Following the question, I was engulfed in a verbal onslaught of little comprehension. Apparently I do not know any of the vocabulary involved in declaring a sports team to be untalented and pathetic.
Love,
Elder Joseph Schindler
Here are the Church's Thirteen Articles of Faith (in English) as referenced by Joseph in his letter. These are the thirteen basic points of our beliefs:
ReplyDeleteTHE ARTICLES OF FAITH
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
History of the Church, Vol. 4, pp. 535—541
1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Joseph Smith
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