December 24, 2019

Sis Clayton, Elder Brown, Elder Manu, Elder Trezise and Pres Hurley

Elder Critter & Elder Trezise

Elder and Sis Clayton, Elder Brown, Elder Manu, Elder Trezise and Pres Hurley

Elder Trezise and Elder Davies (I think)

Elder Cano, Elder Trezise and Elder Palmer - I'm not sure who the man in the middle is

 Elder Trezise's P-day was on Tuesday this week because it was Christmas Eve.  Here is his letter:

Hello everyone! I would love it if instead of reading this email now, y'all waited until tonight and read it together with your family for Christmas Eve! Thank y'all! I love you! But just as an update, this week was AWESOME, and everything is going great. We got to watch "The Fighting Preacher" for our Christmas party, and it was actually super cool! Anyways, yeah. Just wait till' tonight. I love you all!!!

My dear family. My brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, and anyone else who may be reading this; I plead with you to remember Him this Christmas season. Remember His love and His mercy for you. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done. I like to imagine the judgement day as us sitting in a file room alone. In walks Christ. Light and love and passion is flowing out of Him. You feel His warmth. He sits down across from you and opens up one of the file cabinets. Out He pulls a folder with your name on it. He opens it. One by one He starts to read the mistakes you've made. The sins you've committed. You lied, you cheated, you stole. You hurt others. You hurt yourself. You messed up. We all do. But as He reads one mistake He looks up at you. He asks you, "Do you love me?" Looking into the eyes of your perfect Elder Brother you answer in the affirmative. Then, He takes His hands, still bleeding from where the nails were driven through them, and He presses it against the mistake on the paper. He blotches it out with His blood. He has paid the price of that mistake. And He loves you enough to fix it. He moves to the next mistake. He asks the same question and then wipes His hand on that mistake. Onto the next one. And the next one. And the next one. Finally, your record, more red than white now, is clean. Is pure. Looking at you, with tears in His eyes He motions to a doorway, full of light, and tells you that there is a home for you with your Father through that door.
My family and friends, the judgement isn't some test we have to pass. The judgement is us going through our lives, and reviewing how much love we showed our Savior. How much love we showed to others. Do you love Him? It'll be easy to tell Him yes when He's sitting across from you. When He's next to you. How do you show your love now? Where is your focus this Christmas season? Do you have plans to pray or to read your scriptures Christmas morning? What's holding you back? I know you've made mistakes. But that's exactly when we need the Savior the most! And for those of you that can say you do love Him, then why aren't you reading your scriptures daily? Why aren't you praying every morning and night? Why don't you go to church on Sunday? Our Savior bled from every pore, He died on the cross. He was persecuted and rejected. For you. He did everything He did out of love for you. And you can't spend 2 hours in a church building once a week? You can't remember to pray each day? You can't open up a book and read a page? Each and every day the Savior is watching you. Hoping and praying and pleading for you to just listen to Him. To just follow God's commandments. Because He wants you to be happy. And He knows how to find that happiness. He's laid it out for us. I hope you understand that true and sincere love is followed by action. So act! Start today. No matter who you are, or what you've done, it isn't too late for you!
There's a poem that I love that reads;
"'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who'll make it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"

But, No,
From the room far back a gray bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
"Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand!"
"What changed it's worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The touch of the Masters Hand."

"And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with hardship
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He's going once, he's going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the Touch of the Masters Hand."

Life is hard. It's full of trials. And we are like that old violin. We are battered, bruised, dusty and broken. From the outside it can look as though our life is in pieces that we are scattering to put back together. And from the inside it can feel like that sometimes. We can look at ourselves and see that we are broken. We can hang our head low and say, "There is no hope for me." But we just don't quite understand our worth. We don't quite understand who we are to our Heavenly Father. Who we are to our Savior. And the moment we let Him in, He will pick up the pieces of our lives. He will dust us off, tune us up, and show us what we really can do. It'll take a little pain. Everything that needs fixing does. But oh, how worthwhile it will be in the end. What sweet melody our soul will si f when we understand who we are and why we're here!
I don't remember the exact story, or who it even was, but there was an Apostle who did wood work. Someone broke something he made once, and offered to fix it. But he responded, "No, I made it. I can fix it." Our Father is the same way. We come down here, we screw up and break things, and we say, "Don't worry, I can fix it." But our Father looks at us, and says with love, "No child. I made you. I will fix you." It's just up to us to let Him fix us. Invite the Savior into your lives! I plead with you to please turn to Him! He loves you! He wants to help you! And He knows how to! Please!
I bear witness that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I bear witness that He is the Divine Potter. That His birth, His life, and His death is more important than anything else on this planet. I bear witness that He can fix you. I bear that witness from painful personal experience. I have made my fair share of mistakes. I have been in the darkness. And oh how grateful I am for the love that God showed me and the miracles He sent me to change that. How grateful I am for the personal witness of Jesus Christ that I have. For the undeniable testimony of Him that I hold deep in my heart. The knowledge of this Gospel means more to me than anything. It has brought me so much happiness. I feel it every day. I wake up each morning with a smile. I go to bed each night with a heart full of love. His love. Center your lives on your Savior. You'll be just fine. I testify of Him, and His love, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.