Hey Mom and Dad! How´s life? How was Randall´s wedding ? I hope all went well and that he is happy! Man, Dallin was probably a little mad that he got married right before he got home right? That´s funny. That´s so great that Sterling and Dallin get to be companions! How strange that they are in the same mission at the same time! That´s great. How fun it would be to be with your cousin! Yeah I don´t really know what to talk about! There´s so much to tell, and it´s not the same over e-mail! But I do have a couple of questions for you guys. Just about the Spirit. What is the difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost? How has the gift of the Holy Ghost blessed your life?
There is another Elder here in my zone, named Elder Olson. He´s my zone leader and really a good guy. He´s deferred a scholarship from Stanford and is a pretty intelligent person. I had divisions with him the other day, and he asked me just about stuff that I thought I could improve. I told him one of the things I've had a problem with is ¨putting things on the shelf¨, in Dad´s words. It was incredible because he and I seem to think in the exact same way, and he has had the same doubts and concerns that I have had, and we were able to talk about it. It just makes me feel good that I´m not the only one that has doubts, but is trying to do the right thing. What are the chances of that happening? I think there are a lot of things that have happened that have probably influenced by the Lord in helping me resolve my issues and doubts. I was even able to help him with some of his doubts and problems. It was good just to talk to someone that understands how my brain works. It never stops making comparisons, and never stops asking questions. I am prone to ¨lean unto my own understanding¨, and not ask God. That´s one thing I´ve learned here is that God will answer every question you have, in righteousness, in His own way and time. It just seems like when we´re humble and willing to learn, you find answers that are satisfiable, even to the questioning and stubborn mind like mine. But it only happens when we trust in God enough to understand that He knows more than us. I have been thinking about the purpose of life. I´ve started at the beginning. I´ve looked at my body, the plants around us, the food we eat, our senses and everything. The human body is perfect. I´ve thought about just how none of this could be a mistake. God could´ve used evolution and the creation story still be true. How life could have started by chance is a little fishy to me. How a body could have developed (with a brain to command, teeth to chew, toes to keep balance and intestines to break down the food we eat) out of nothing I don´t know, and I think it´s pretty improbable. Even scientists that believe in evolution have to believe that there is something guiding this process. Read the creation account in Abraham with evolution in mind. A lot of words like ¨formed¨, and ¨organized¨ are used. God ¨formed¨ man out of the dust of the ground. There is one verse that says that the God´s ¨watched¨ until they were obeyed. There´s a lot about ¨preparing¨ the waters to bring forth life. I think there was something much more complicated than just the creation story. And how would God have told us any other way? It´s the most simple way He can do it. I think that seeing this organization and perfection of our bodies is a great testimony that there is a greater power at hand here. There just happened to be enough food and water and everything for us to live here. It´s a perfect little testing ground for all of us.
I´ve been thinking about how our minds and our bodies are programmed to believe in God. We have emotions and our minds and spirits are designed to grow. Only through believing in Christ can we really reach our maximum. Only through faith in Christ can we feel the maximum amount of joy, peace, love, and purpose. When we follow the principles of the Gospel we can reach our full potential. I think I became frustrated with God because I thought that God made Himself manifest to you first, and then you follow the plan that He´s given you. But it´s in doing what He wants you to do that you come to know God. When you believe God loves you, you come to know that God loves you. And I think that´s why the restored Gospel is so important. All of these principles work together to bring us closest to God. All of the other religions help others to become close to God, but only this one brings us where He wants us to be. Like you said in your letter to me dad we are the stewards of the bedrock principles of life. The principles that bring us to life and bring us to what we are supposed to be. I read a quote by Joseph Smith that Mormonism is synonymous with truth. We believe in truth, and embrace any truth, and eventually all truth will be round up into one place. I think I became frustrated with Joseph Smith and some of the things he did. I think that he was extremely intelligent, but that he could have only done the things he did with faith in Christ and a real knowledge that he was bringing forth the truth. I have felt in my life the quickening power of the Spirit. As I´ve read some of his words, I believe he was quickened by the Spirit, and he learned a lot. I believe we can all reach that same maximum and learn a lot if we study, and ask God like he did.
Don´t think I´m wasting all my time thinking about all this stuff. I have to think about it. If I don´t, I´ll never understand. We´re doing good. We had two more baptisms this past Sunday. They were two jovenes of fifteen and twelve years old. They are so awesome. Their family is so great. Every time we go over there they tell us they´ve been waiting for us and give us food and everything. They are so great.
All is well. I am learning, and I believe I am making progress. Slowly but surely, I am making progress, and helping other people along the way to make progress too. So don´t worry about anything. I ´m doing good. I love you all Russell
Elder West
