This week has been wonderful! And i have learned many, many things (as usual)
This is one of the many beautiful truths I have learned, this is one that I want to share with you:
"In the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi, broken pottery is mended with gold. The cracks, instead of being hidden, are highlighted to show respect for the vessel’s history and showcase the beauty of a broken thing made whole.
What if we could learn to do the same? To celebrate the person we have become, not despite our struggles but because of them?
The poet Robert Bly wrote, “Where a man’s wound is, that is where his genius will be.” Our wounds inform our experience and shape our journey. They teach us things we can’t learn in a classroom. Our moments of brokenness inspire us to turn to the Savior for healing, to humble ourselves, to rely completely on Him. They allow us, bit by bit, to become more like Him.
Jesus Christ would not be the Savior if He had not endured His brokenness. And you would not be the glorious person you are becoming if you were not required to endure your own. When you recognize that, you can say with Paul, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Corinthians 12:9). You can finally thank God for the gift of your brokenness." (August 2018 Ensign)
I testify that the Saviors Atonement can mend you with gold. His sacrifice wasn't so we could press a magic reset button on our lives, but rather, become new, better people. That is why repentance is a JOYFUL thing. I'm so grateful that all of my broken pieces can be mended by His perfect grace.
Have a great week everyone! Thank you for being you!
Sincerely,
Sister Bush
Email to family:
Hello!
Don't worry about pday haha. The way it works is if that week it changes to a new month than my pday changes that week. Does that make sense? So because we begin september on saturday, my pday changed this week. Haha I know it's confusing, I didn't get it for awhile too so its partly my fault.
Anyways, great to hear from you! ready for this jumble of thoughts? you may needs Reubens help in putting my week together haha
i looooove that picture of the temple and im so glad reuben did that puzzle!! so neat!! and beautiful. wow.
ill go to Nauvoo the day after labor day. im not sure if ill still be with sister Swaney or not. probably im thinking we will.
haha i hope the house gets fixed up soon! we neeeeed our pipes to be fixed here in carthage cuz the water tastes like swamp water. im suspecting its the reason i got sick in the first place....
all that yard work makes me think of repentance! i know, im a missionary haha. but its true. you cant do it on your own, its hard work but its also very satisfying and fulfilling. and there is always more to do! thank you for your example of putting your mind to something and working on it!
you are doing just what i knew you would. having faith, but acting too! doing all you can. its kinda like Hinckley says. pray earnestly and tell Heavenly Father our needs and desires and then get up on our feet and go to work. otherwise He doesnt have anything to work with and cant answer our prayers! man you guys are awesome.
BREAKING NEWS: STEVEN SHARP NELSON IS IN SISTER SWANEYS HOME WARD. When she told me this I about passed out. He played at her farewell. She often dogsits for them. Like her family is good friends with their family. What! She calls him steve! How crazy is that. I just can't believe it!!! They might come to Nauvoo and that would be so epic. I'm hoping that because she knows them I can somehow hire him (or all of them) to play at my wedding. That would be a lifelong dream. Wow. So that was first on my list of things to tell you haha.
This week has been quite an adventure. First of all, it's getting a little bit colder here but I know it's getting a lot colder in utah! And I was thinking about how cold the first winter might be for you mom haha. I'm happy to hear you feel prepared. Also, I've taken some time to crochet you and dad scarves. I call them conference scarves because I work on them whenever I am listening to conference talks! I hope that you two go to a conference session and wear them! In fact I will extend that invitation to you- either just you two or take the family to a session of conference in october. I feel like that would be an awesome experience! Anyways, I will be sending those scarves soon. I just need to add the finishing touches and find time to go to the post office haha. I hope you like them and that they keep you warm! I love you both! i wont send pictures cuz i want to surprise you(;
Sweet tour moment this week:
There was a special needs girl who came to Carthage and it was touching to watch her. She asked her mom for help so that she could touch the door. Very sweet.
Comparing zoramite prayer with almas prayer, from alma 31 was really cool this week- it was one of my neat studies, seeing the difference in prayers. how they were both "praying" but only Alma was communicating and conversing. love it!
There is a new preach my gospel!!!! The paper version won't be out for another couple months. But the electronic version is ready for the using! Something pres Lusvardi has told us to do is get a fresh copy of PMG and study it side by side with the electronic new one. Write in the notes of all the changes. And as I've been doing this I've learned so much!! They are changing lots of words. Getting rid of words like: investigstor, less active, proselytizing, meeting, doctrines, ect. You should check it out if you wonder what those have been changed to! Or go side by side through the whole thing like I am. You'll learn a ton, I'm telling you. I feel like I'm learning a lot about missionary work but a lot about President Nelson because I'm doing it. Man I love it.
Sis Swaney and I have had 100% companion unity in the martyrdom room a few times this week. One time was with these two women and I felt the need to share some of the trials I've been through, testify of how the master calms the savior and promise them that He can calm them during the midst of their struggles. I wasn't sure if it was right. And then sis Swaney bore testimony of how Heavenly Father comforts us during our afflictions. And I knew it was right. So I did what the spirit said. Afterwords, the lady said she recently lost her husband, doesn't have a house right now and other things. So it was exactly what they needed to hear and I'm glad we both listened to the spirit!!
Okay so its hard to not gain weight here. Right now I'm eating really healthy on my own, I don't eat anything with added sugar (and I'm doing good with that!) And staying under 1500 calories every day. BUT the seniors are always inviting us over to eat way too much food and bringing goodies all the time. It's so hard! Not just to resist cuz it tastes great, but because it's the way these couples are trying to show their love for us haha so to help them feel appreciated we have to eat their food. It's hard. And I've heard outbound is even worse! So I'm doing what I can to stay healthy haha. And besides the seniors in really proud of how I'm doing. Normal meals are like eggs, oatmeal, chicken salads, soups, spaghetti squash or mashed cauliflower. I have usually 1-2 fruits and veggies everyday. So I think I'm doing good besides the seniors hahaha
We went to alfanos as a district in carthage! Alfanos is a the only place to really eat out in carthage. It's pretty lame but hey it's Italian haha. Sis Swaney and I shared pasta and BBQ pizza. It was pretty good. The pasta tasted cheap tho. But that was a lot of fun! The hard part was that the radio was playing and we were half wanting to dance and the other half of us wanted to plug our ears haha.
So our mission took a vote (under the direction of president) and he decided to move mission trainings to the evenings cuz it worked better for the majority of people. Apparently there was some complaining so he canceled mission training for a bit so that he could talk to those people. He was trying to follow the counsel of Mosiah 18:21-22. On Sunday the subject in sacrament was obedience. And sister Owen. A senior sister got up and was a complete savage! She chastised the mission as a whole for complaining and murmuring against our leader who is called of God. Not directly like that but she applied her message specifically to the mission training situation. It was quite a sacrament meeting haha. Luckily, we have resumed mission training so I guess it worked!
my sundays and studies have all been way more enriching since i have been trying to write down every piece of revelation i receive. it makes my hand hurt but i have found it makes me learn way more and connect more with the spirit! so its worth it! my journal is filling up faster tho haha.
did you find a gold chain for my personal progress and charms?? ive been missing mine and i hope i get a replacement soon haha. you can use my money i just need a chain (:
i have felt bad for sis swaney this week a little cuz her back has been hurting. sadness. we dont know what it is but she doesnt want to go to the doctor again... so yeah im just doing my best to help her with that struggle.
even though we arent getting a lot of tours im still as busy as ever, President used the scripture DC 84:85 and told us that right now is a time to treasure up. he said that our Heavenly Father is aware of the extra time we have and we are to use it wisely. i think that applies to life as well, kinda like you said dad. sometimes we are given periods of time in our lives to work on treasuring up and things so that we can be ready for what Heavenly Father next asks us to do!
Chaismus in the book of mormon. (examples: the whole book of 1st Nephi and alma 36)
"Chiasmus, sometimes called an inverted parallelism, is a Hebrew literary form where words or ideas are arranged in a certain order and then repeated in reverse order. This repetition emphasizes important ideas and words. In addition, the writer’s main idea is often located at the center of the chiasmus.
Alma used chiasmus to tell the story of his conversion to his son Helaman. The presence of Semitic literary forms such as chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is an external witness that the book is what the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that it is: a translation of an ancient text written in a Middle Eastern language." (institute manual)
Now. i know you guys knew about chaismus already and probably know what im about to say but it was really cool for me to discover this and plot out exactly how everything works together, verse by verse. then i realized that the writers main idea is often located at the center of chiasmus. so. i deceided to find the exact center. i counted all the lines, words, and lines in the old version of the book of mormon too. (first edition copy we have here at carthage). and the exact center is the same for both editions. so that isnt a coincidence.
there are a total of 194 lines in the current edition of the book of mormon. and line number 97 says "the coming of one Jesus Christ". finding that out really hit me for some reason. Alma chose that line on purpose to be the center of his chiasmus. why? because it is the exact turning point for him. it is the moment when he remembered the teachings of his father about a savior and found hope in Jesus Christ and His atonement. what a lesson for us all! everything just sort of clicked after that. and i feel like i know not only alma on a more personal level but the Savior Jesus Christ as well. it was quite an aha moment for me and i know for a fact that the spirit was very involved.
as for the whole book of first nephi here is what i found:
"By far the most subtle use of chiasmus in any work is its role in creating the structural design behind longer passages and entire books. Consider briefly the outline of the First Book of Nephi and how the order of Nephi’s narration revolves around his vision of the Spirit of the Lord:
a) Lehi’s dream leads him to prophesy warnings to the Jews (chapter 1)
b) The departure from Jerusalem (2)
c) Nephi accomplishes a great feat emphasis>in obtaining the brass plates of 1 Nephi 3:7; the brothers are confounded (3–5)
d) Ishmael joins the group with his daughters (7)
e) The tree of life (8)
f) Lehi prophesies about the Old World and the coming of the Lamb (10)
g) Nephi and the Spirit of the Lord (11)
f) Nephi prophesies about the New World and the coming of the Lamb (12–14)
e) The tree of life interpreted (15)
d) The sons of Lehi marry the daughters of Ishmael and Ishmael dies (16)
c) Nephi accomplishes a great feat by building a ship of 1 Nephi 17:3; the brothers are confounded (17)
b) The departure from the Old World (18)
a) Nephi warns the Jews and quotes the prophecies of Isaiah (19–22)
More than ever before, we are now in a position to admire the purposeful and stunning unity of Nephi’s message. The long-neglected principle of chiasmus unfolds the fact that when Nephi revised the record of Lehi, Nephi’s mind was clearly organized and his heart was intent upon expressing the central importance of his great vision with the Spirit of the Lord. He achieves this expression via chiasmus. By understanding this, we can point to the concerted power of Nephi’s style, and we can get explicitly to the point of Nephi’s inspiration." (new Era, feb 1972)
woah. how amazing is that. Nephi also chose to put at the center of his chiasmus, his discovery of the savior and who Jesus Christ really is.
so now i am pondering what the middle of my spiritual chiasmus is. and considering writing one! according to my testimony. some form of poetry. idk. i hope all of that made sense hahaha
We gave a tour to a family from Thailand. so that was cool. But get this: they moved there not for the dads work or anything, but because they felt like their kids needed to experience more of the world outside the US and the spirit said Thailand so that's where they have been living for a year and they are going back for year two! They had never been their before, didn't know the language or anything. So that is just crazy to me and is an example of obedience. I was impressed by this family! Made me think of all the times you guys have followed the spirit in raising us! Thank you for being in tune with the spirit when considering how to teach us(:
So! We found out our outbound will be after October 26th. We will most likely leave the Monday after that. And it will probably be for about 5 months. I don't know where I'm going yet but last year the sisters found out a month before they left! So I should be finding out pretty soon! That is exciting (:
So this week I've been studying in Alma 32 and it's probably one of the most complex chapters in the Book of Mormon!
My perspective changed when I read a quote by elder Holland when he said (about Alma 32) "Christ is the seed, the tree, and the fruit of eternal life."
And I was like woah. Hang on. I wish I had time to type out all the crossreferences I found and things but my favorite was in Alma 34:36. It mentions how the Lord dwelleth in the hearts of the righteous.
So that's how He's the seed.
And He's the tree because as our relationship with Him grows and we nurture it, we can feel Gods love.
And He's the fruit because in Him we can have a fullness of joy. and theres so much more to learn about that so check it out!
sorry this email is so long haha and crazy random, i wish i had time to organize my thoughts better. just know that i love you all dearly and im so happy when i get to hear from you. you guys mean the world to me. you make everything worth it! and i super duper love being a missionary! every second of it :D
ps what are you guys being for halloween?????
yours truly,
Sister Bush
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