Prideful Obedience

December 22, 2015

Hellow :)

The Rodenbergs invited us over on Christmas but they said "come whenever". I should have a lot longer to skype this time than I did last time since I'll be using my own iPad and the church's free wifi. :) This will be Elder Walker's first call as he's only been out for 4ish months. He has 19 siblings, 11 adopted and 9 biological. He's a good guy. He was just companions with Elder Gunnel, the guy I ate steaks with on that one exchange in Brandenburg. He's a bit of a clean freak. I'm the designated driver. I hate driving with the tiwi. Last night I had to drive from Bardstown to Campbellsville in pitch black Kentucky back roads in the rain. That drive is up there with the scariest drives I've done. Elder Walker was having a heart attack. 

Elder Jensen was transferred to English Indiana which is in the Corydon district. I consider Engligh the Sulphur Well of Indiana. The area's huge, and there's a ton of boonies.

This week was a fun week. We were very productive and saw some blessings come out of it. A lot of this week was taking Elder Walker around and introducing him to everyone. He just came from Jasper, Indiana where President Brough expects "5 baptisms a month". He also was just companions with Elder Gunnel, one of the most active missionaries I've met. To come from there to here, Campbellsville, was a bit of an adjustment. No matter how hard you work, this area can't produce numbers like Jasper can. On the first day here Lucy asked him to be Santa for the Christmas party. That was funny. The branch Christmas party was a huge success. There were a ton of less actives and non members there. The program itself was great. Everyone who participated did a fantastic job. There was a homeless man that Lucy invited named Joseph. He loved the program and said he'd come to church on Sunday. He came to church and loved it. After church we taught him and his mother Mary (appropriate names for the season right?) the first lesson and they accepted the invitation to be baptized. I thought that was a great experience.

Yesterday we had the Christmas conference. It was great. We had a lot of fun there. I met Elder Ashcraft there. Elder Ashcraft is friends with Dan, the other friend I made at JCW's. We played some pretty funny games that are well documented on the mission's facebook page. I was forced to eat at Mellow Mushroom (Heck) because Carrabbas was apparently "20 miles out of the way". I honestly don't know why so many missionaries like Mellow Mushroom so much. It has a cool atmosphere but the food there is not good at all.

The prideful obedience thing is something I observed with several other missionaries. Much like the contention thing I went off on back in Corydon. Speaking of contention, look up 3 Nephi 11:28-30 

"28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

 29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

 30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away."

I'm about half way though 2nd Nephi on my BoM highlighting activity I started a couple weeks ago. It takes me an hour to go through 2 or so chapters now. I've been getting far more out of the BoM than I ever had before with this activity. I want to apply it to all other scriptures. I really like what you said about Laman and Lemuel last week. They always fascinate me whenever I read about them.

Well, I'm nearing my 9 month mark. January 1st will be the day. This has been probably the hardest year of my life. I'll always remember how hard 2015 was. 2014 was a cake walk. This year wasn't. This year's been hard! I feel absolutely, mentally and spiritually beat up. I can understand how missionaries who are at the end are just exhausted. I could go on about the specifics of what made this year hard but I'm not going to do that. Instead I'll talk about how they've built me. I have become significantly stronger and more capable to conquer life on earth. I have realized how true the gospel is and how much it can help in life. My testimony has exploded in strength. And I've learned what is truly important. I've realized what truly has value. I can think of only 3 things that carry over from this life to the next. First, knowledge. Second, your personality or who you are. Third, your relationships with others. This world is a temporary world. It will pass away. The eternal world won't however, and there are only a few things that are here on this world that will carry over and they all have to do with your personal progression to perfection. It is absolutely vital that we focus on these. That we allow the gospel to mold them into the attributes they're supposed to be. I'm thankful for the mission. Being a missionary has been the hardest thing I've done but it's been well worth it. 

Thank you. Love you and see ya Friday!

-Elder Ben

PS - One of the members at church said Star Wars was a "perfect movie". Only 15 more months until I can see it. *cries deeply*

PSS - I think it would be AWESOME if Austin got called to the Great Kentucky Louisville Mission and I became his trainer!

Here's the tie you gave me last week and a blue tie I picked up at Mitchell's
because it caught my eye. It's a nice dark blue with white stripes.

From left to right: Elder Walker, me, Elder Caldwell, Elder Hammond,

Elder Charlton, and Elder Sharp. Elder Sharp is in my district again.

This is the pizza someone at my table ordered last night.
I just bought a slice of cheesecake and drank water.

The kids were funny.

That's me, Elder Irwin, Rod, and Elder Bennett on Elder Walker's lap.

Goat House

December 14, 2015

Dear Family,

Hellow! :D

This week was pretty fun. I got a lot of stories out of it. Starting with the dance. One of the sisters in the dance apparently didn't like that we did that. She complained to one of the STL's (Sister Training Leader, the only leadership position sisters can hold) about it and threw down on how "disobedient" we were being and "how many of God's children are going to suffer" because of it. It doesn't make sense for her to hate it because she looked like she loved doing it and she helped all of us learn it. But according to the Glasgow elders, she wasn't happy with it. Obedience to missionary rules is important. You should follow them. But some missionaries out here take it to Pharisee/Sadducee level and start making up rules so they won't break other rules. There is absolutely nothing wrong with making a district dance. We sent that video to every elder in the mission. That's at least 140 missionaries. And we sent it to Sis. Brough. She loved it. 

Now onto the minister. It actually went really well. He still lets us help in the kitchen but he doesn't want us delivering. We had a 40ish minute lesson with him. We taught L1 and after we finished he started asking a lot of questions about a lot of different subjects. He asked about God, Jesus, the Holy Ghost, Satan, eternal progression, the book of Abraham, Priesthood authority, etc. He was all over the place. What I liked was that he wasn't trying to bash. He was just trying to understand us. We cleared up a lot of his concerns and false ideas about us. He complemented our church by saying "You guys do family better than anyone else." Something he said that interested me was that he went to school for "Angelology" and "Demonology". I didn't know those were subjects that were taught in schools. I wonder where their doctrine for "Angelology" comes from. Anyway, it was a nice meeting. A lot better than I was expecting it to be. He's a minister for the money though, unfortunately.

I went to Glasgow again this week. I was there with Elder Hammond. We helped a member named Bro. E build the frame for a goat house in his back yard. The project took all day. We didn't have any power tools. We had a lot of 2X4's cut to certain lengths, nails, and a hammer to work with. The project turned out surprisingly well. While we were there, they fed us dinner and told us about themselves. Bro. E joined the church 19 years ago and has loved it ever since. He looked a little like Dad. His mannerisms were like Dad too. They have animals all over the place. Goats, pigs, cats, dogs, etc. They have a couple of Amish neighbors. We went over to borrow some clamps from one of their workshops. Yes, I was in an Amish workshop. The place looked and felt 200 years old. Building that frame was one of the funnest service projects I've done out here. I've noticed the funnest service projects I do out here involve some kind of farm work. After we finished the service, I spent an hour in Glasgow's church restoring my iPad's music. While I was in Glasgow, Elders Jensen and Caldwell got to try deep fried squirrel from one of the guys we serve with at that church.

While I was in Glasgow, Elder Hammond introduced me to a local Kentucky gospel band. They're called The Lindsey Family. Their latest album, Crosses & Stones, came out this year. I have it on my iPad. I think you'll like them because they're SUPER Kentucky but not annoying Kentucky. They're actually really good. 

Well, Elder Jensen is getting transferred. He leaves tomorrow. He's been waiting for this for a long time. In my time with Elder Jensen, I've learned a lot about exact obedience vs. disobedience. As I mentioned, some missionaries take being obedient to missionary rules to the extreme. They treat it like the military. They say "If you're not exactly obedient, you won't baptize." Missionaries like that look at other missionaries like Elders White or Jensen, who know how to have fun on a mission, and label them as "disobedient". The funny thing is, missionaries who are "disobedient" baptize way more than the missionaries who are "obedient". Elder White baptized 20 people on his mission. As I've thought about this subject I've come to a conclusion as to why "disobedient" missionaries get more baptisms than prideful "obedient" missionaries. People like people who are likable. If you're a stickler for rules and look down on others because you observed their "disobedience" once, that will show when you're teaching someone. On the other hand, if you're a likable person who knows how to have fun, but still follows mission rules, that will show and the investigators will like you. I've heard more stories about prideful "obedient" missionaries scaring investigators off than baptizing them. 

I could go on about obedience vs. disobedience for a long time. It's a subject that's always hot in the mission field among other missionaries. There's every kind of missionary possible out here. Obedience is important and you should strive to be exactly obedient. But in the mission field, it can get hard to define "exact obedience" when you've got every kind of missionary giving every interpretation of the rules. This is a subject I can talk a lot more about in person. It's hard to put into words. I'm going to miss Elder Jensen when he's gone. We had a lot of fun times but we still worked as hard as we could. 

It's weird to think I've been a missionary longer than I was at JCW's because I don't feel like I've been a missionary all that long. I'm 8.5 months in. It does not feel like 8.5 months. 

I love you!

-Elder Ben

PS- Here's a funny conversation I had with a guy who's an investigator. This week's going to be hard with all the Star Wars stuff. I'm going to know everything that happens before I get to see it. :'(

Guy: "Just watch Star Wars anyway. Go to the midnight release"

Me: "We can't. We'll be sleeping."

Guy: "Star Wars is worth losing sleep over. Besides, who's going to know? You're not doing any work at that time of day anyway."

Me: "It's against the rules."

Guy: "So? Who's going to know? Not your mission leaders."

Me: "The Lord will know."

Take care! Love you all!

The goat house we built.

Service & Video

December 7, 2015

Hello Family! :D

Yes, I got the box. I already ate through the Toblerones. I wore the sweater to interviews with Pres. Brough and he liked it. I love the advent calendar! It's really helpful in reminding me about the true meaning of Christmas. I start every personal study with it. 

I'll find out transfer news this Saturday. Elder Jensen has a good chance at being transferred. He's spent 6 months here.

This week was a bit of everything again. We might have to stop doing service at that church. The lead minister pulled us aside and said we're not allowed to help deliver on the church buses anymore because their purpose is to bring others to Christ and ours isn't, but we are allowed to help in the kitchen. We told him our purpose is to bring others to Christ and he said "Well, I don't know a lot about your church. Can we set up a time to meet and discuss doctrines?" The time is set for tomorrow morning at 10. We're going to teach him the first lesson. I have the feeling he won't like it. The thing is, we've made very positive relationships with the other people who help out with the food. They always ask if we're coming back the next week. They love having us over. Last week one of the guys in the kitchen asked if we were going to help with delivery. We told him what happened and he didn't like that. If we do get kicked out tomorrow, it's going to cause a bit of a mess. The people in that kitchen will ask "Why is our church turning away these people who love helping us?" Tomorrow morning is going to be interesting.

On a happy note, J & L are coming to church regularly. We met with them the other night and helped them put Christmas lights up. We also showed them a few of the videos on Christmas.Mormon.org. They liked it. L took it upon herself to call over less active members and invite them to the branch Christmas party. That was cool to see.

During interviews, Sis. Brough challenged every missionary to get a paper back BoM and do the 4 color highlight activity in the back on Chapter 5 of PMG. I've been doing it for 2 weeks now and am almost done with 1st Nephi. It's surprising how much I comprehend now. This activity forces me to read every sentence carefully and decide which of the 4 colors I should use to highlight it or if it needs to be highlighted at all. It's a great activity and it makes the BoM a lot easier to understand. I'd suggest you give it a try. It's fun.

Yes, I did get to watch the Devotional last night. It was like another session of conference. It came on at 8 here which is 6 your time. It was like ending the day early. I thought everyone there gave great messages. I liked Elder Bednar and President Uchtdorf's messages a lot. Both were great at bringing the Christmas spirit in.

Last week I told you about Miss M. Unfortunately she didn't get baptized on Saturday. Her parents are still against it. She really wants to be baptized but she doesn't want to be disowned at the same time. She'll get baptized eventually. I honestly don't know how long it'll take though.

Thank you for everything. I love getting the packages! I have some fun pictures and a video you'll really like.

Merry Christmas! 

-Elder Ben

Cool "B"

Here's that selfie.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree!

Advent Calendar

I don't study. I play with Hot Wheels - jk  :)

This is what I've been having for breakfast for the past few weeks.
I eat next to the cool blow up sunlight thing you sent me.

We had a fireside District Meeting at the cabin this week.

It's pomegranate season!

This is me on the Jenson's couch after Thanksgiving dinner.

This is what's in the Jenson's 40 acre back yard.

Elder Bennett posing again.

Us

We had a bonfire at the end of Thanksgiving day. It was probably 15 feet tall.

Elder Jensen and the toy car.

                                                                  Merry Christmas from the District!

Fastest Week Ever!

Nov 30, 2015

Dear Family,

The 2nd half of this week was super busy. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were crazy.

Thursday was thanksgiving. We started off playing ultimate frisbee with the branch in the morning. We did that for an hour. Then we played sand volley ball for another hour. Then we went to the Jensons and spent the rest of the day there.
At the Jensons we played ping pong wile we waited for the food to be done. Then we ate. The food itself was extremely delicious. Sis. Jenson is a great cook. After dinner we explored their yard. They have lots of little creeks all over the place. Then we lit fireworks. They were big and loud. Then we had a bonfire. It was probably 15 feet high.

Friday was interviews with president. He showed me a good way to introduce the BoM to people. Then Elder Caldwell and I went on exchange to Glasgow. When we got there we met with a member who was stuck in the hospital. We showed him a Mormon message and helped him feel better.

Saturday was abnormal. We would have ended the exchange after lunch but due to crazy conditions, of which I'll describe in a bit, I had to stay all of Saturday in Glasgow. We started off teaching one of their investigators, Mr Gr. I've taught him before. This time he told us to sneak into the Star Wars preview because no one would know. We told him God would know and he said He wouldn't care because He'd watch it with us. Later we met with Miss Mi. She's been investigating for a while. She believes the church is true but doesn't want to upset her mother. She said she'd talk to her about it though. We had to bike the last 4 hours of the day because the Glasgow sisters needed the car. It was raining, dark, and cold. That's how I got a cold. We met with a few people and had dinner with a member. When I got back to Glasgow's apartment I was extremely exhausted.

Sunday was weird because I went to Glasgow's church. It felt like that awkward first church day when you're transferred to a new area. After church we drove to Campbellsville because Caldwell had to do an emergency baptismal interview. This is why the exchange went on for much longer than normal. There's a girl named Miss Ma. She's been going to church for a long time but hadn't been baptized because her family is highly against it.
Miss Ma even teaches primary. She decided she didn't care what her family thinks and decided to get baptized anyway. So in an effort to save miles, we extended the exchange so we'd only have to drive up there once. Instead of once for the exchange and another time for the interview. She's is set to be baptized later this week.

So that was this week.
Love all of you!

-Elder Benjamin Kohkonen Cox

It's weird to think that was a little over 8 months ago. I hit 8 months tomorrow. I have news. Because of the MTC extension I will be serving for an extra week. I won't come home on March 29th now. It'll be April 5th, 2017. I'm actually a little happy about that.