Fear not 😱

As the celebration of the pagan holiday we call Halloween came to a climax I began to ponder on the nature of fear. I resolved upon taking a scriptural excursion appertaining to this subject. For when I crack open the pages of the sacred records I truly do feel as if I'm embarking on a journey of learning and spiritual enlightenment, the likes of which would capture the jealousy of adventurers as great as Marco Polo or Lewis and Clark. The details of said excursion have far surpassed my expectations, and while expounding upon them would please me greatly I must forgo that delight for lack of time. 

    

So fear, as Homosapien-sapiens we are all very well acquainted with our friendly little monster under the bed. Fear is an unavoidable consequence of the human condition. But without delving too deep into the engender of it all and the "why" to the way things are, I would like to briefly touch on how we can trounce the little bugger. John so handsomely wrote the following

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

"Perfect love casteth out fear." So how can we beat out fear? Well with love of course! Cue the "awwwwe." Being in a state of fear is rooted in ourselves. We're scared of what may or may not happen to us. Whereas charity, the real and true love of Christ is entirely focused outward. When we're following the example of our savior Jesus Christ and turning out in perfect selfless love. We are disinterested in our own carnal desires and are therefore fearless, trusting in God and the plan that he has set forth for us. Let us overcome fear by turning out in Christ-like acts of service and compassion. 

Sorry that I changed my writing styles like three times in this email :D I thought I'd practice my English because I'm starting to lose it because of all this Spanish business. But that ended up taking too much time so this is what you're left with! 

    

 Anyway this week has been incredible, we have an investigator named Liliana who just passed her baptismal interview and is going to be baptized this Saturday! We're so excited for her! It's going to bless her life so much. Elder Smith my former companion came back and visited the mission, it was pretty crazy to see him especially because it feels like we were companions just last month! We had a super fun Halloween as well with the Ruiz family and taught them how Americans celebrate Halloween. The work is going along super great, thank you all so much for your love and prayers. We've seen so many miracles it's been incredible. Love you all! 

Elder Brunsdale