"We've got your mission call." Whaaaat?

Dear family and friends,

We had Zone Conference this last Thursday, and though I still have trouble getting excited about long meetings, it was good. After it ended, President Walker came up to me and pulled me aside. I assumed it was something about my two-transfer mission, because that had happened before. What I didn't expect was what he said next: "We've got your mission call." Whaaaat? I had expected it to come over two weeks later, as that was what happened to another two-transfer missionary. Apparently it isn't always the same!

For those who have not yet heard, I am going to the Columbus, Ohio mission after this transfer ends on the 27th.

We received a referral a few days ago. A woman named Brinca was going through a hard time and was inspired to look randomly at Snapchat, of all places. There she found some kind of ad for the Book of Mormon as a place to turn for peace. She saw she could call and order one for free, so she did, and it got referred from Salt Lake City to us. We delivered her Book of Mormon and have had two good lessons since then. Pretty cool how social media can lead to people discovering the gospel.

During interviews a while back President Walker asked me to think about Charity, and I've been thinking about it ever since. His advice to me was not to find charity by doing good things for others; we find it first by coming unto Christ which naturally makes us want to serve others.

Preach My Gospel says this about charity:

A man once asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied: “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” (Matthew 22:36–39).
Charity is “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47). It includes God’s eternal love for all His children. We are to seek to develop that kind of love. When you are filled with charity, you obey God’s commandments and do all you can to serve others and help them receive the restored gospel.
Charity is a gift from God. The prophet Mormon said that we should “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48). As you follow this counsel and strive to do righteous works, your love for all people will increase, especially those among whom you labor. You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father, and you will labor in their behalf. You will avoid negative feelings such as anger, envy, lust, or covetousness. You will avoid judging others, criticizing them, or saying negative things about them. You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged. Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself.

The part that sticks out to me the most is "You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father". I could liken this to a quote from a certain film that means a lot to me but...I'll let you make that connection by yourself so I don't stoop to talking about movies in my missionary letters.

A good, short article I read this morning, "The Just Shall Live By Faith", contains the story of The Rabbi and the Soap Maker from the April 2017 Ensign:

There is an old Jewish tale about a soap maker who did not believe in God. One day as he was walking with a rabbi, he said, “There is something I cannot understand. We have had religion for thousands of years. But everywhere you look there is evil, corruption, dishonesty, injustice, pain, hunger, and violence. It appears that religion has not improved the world at all. So I ask you, what good is it?”

The rabbi did not answer for a time but continued walking with the soap maker. Eventually they approached a playground where children, covered in dust, were playing in the dirt.

“There is something I don’t understand,” the rabbi said. “Look at those children. We have had soap for thousands of years, and yet those children are filthy. What good is soap?”

The soap maker replied, “But rabbi, it isn’t fair to blame soap for these dirty children. Soap has to be used before it can accomplish its purpose.”

The rabbi smiled and said, “Exactly.”

My advice for Family Home Evening tonight (or another night) is to read the Family Proclamation and discuss it.

Love,
Elder Gallagher