June 22, 2020

I had some screenshots on my phone of Elder Trezise that I wanted to share.  The first one was during a sad time when Elder Trezise was really struggling.  Elder Manu had just went home - this is Elder Trezise wearing Elder Manu's coat.  He was struggling with his companion and as an AP.  I just wanted to post it so that he can look back and see that he can do hard things.  And that there are always good things ahead.

This one was taken on a day when Elder Trezise had called home and Max played him some songs on his guitar.  He played one of Elder Trezise's favorite Fleet Foxes songs. 

 

 And of course, whenever Elder Trezise calls home he wants to see "his" dog.  He always tries to talk to Ollie but of course Ollie is oblivious.  I can't wait until he gets home to see how well Ollie remembers him and we are all excited for him to meet Ziggie.

 Elder Trezise found a Yeti costume that was left in his apartment by some other missionaries.  He loves it.  As everyone knows Elder Trezise hardly ever gets cold, but he tries to keep his apartment as cold as he can so he can wear it.

It has been a tough few months for Elder Trezise.  Quarantine is hard.  But he continues to try and to not give up.  We were able to have quite a few really good talks this week.  Here is his letter from this week:

Hello family! 

This week was a quick one. Don't remember most of what happened to be honest. We had some solid lessons and set up to have a baptism this weekend! 

 

Honestly, there's been 10,000 things on my mind that I COULD talk about, but they're just stuff that I feel in the moment, and it's hard to put down on paper. 

 

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to have faith, what it means to be saved, and why it's so important. What is required for us to be saved? The answer, if you know about the Gospel is simple. Nothing. There is nothing that is REQUIRED of us to be saved. In actuality, we are saved. Right now. We all are. If we were to die now, we would return to God, and live in Heaven. But the part that we determine, the part where our agency really lies in, is the faith part. Really the decisions you make here just determine how long you plan to stay in God's presence after you die. So many people, so many religions have different views on it. On what's required. Some say that we are saved here and now and we can do nothing, because it doesn't matter and we'll all return anyways. That seems sad to me. What motive would I have to become a better person? What motive would I have to achieve my dreams and goals? It wouldn't matter regardless, and I could just achieve them at a much lower difficulty rate while in Heaven. On the other hand some think you have to be exactly obedient to ever rule. Don't mess up, follow the commandments, do everything you can. Which is partially true. To be fair both are partially true. The second would lead me to feel like a failure whenever I mess up. Which is often. 

 

But honestly none of that is the point. The point isn't that we are saved and don't have to do anything. The point isn't being so focused on the rules and commandments that we're afraid to make a mistake. Afraid to mess up. No. The Savior Himself said what the point is. "The first and great commandment is to love the Lord thy God, and the second is like unto it. Love thy neighbor as thyself." That's the point! Love God, and love your neighbor. The most important part is to love. That's why Christ came in the first place. To fulfill the law of Moses and to provide us a new way to receive salvation. The new way is love. 

 

Think about it. Love, real love leads to action. If we love God we will WANT to follow the commandments. We will WANT to please Him. And if we love others, we will WANT to help them, and serve them. Which service will in turn lead to us being happy. That's the true way to be happy, to find joy. Is just to serve, to help. To love others. That's the human flaw. We're so focused on loving ourselves, on helping ourselves. So centered on us. When in reality the love we need is the love from others. Not the love we give ourselves. 

I don't know. It's a topic I've thought about a lot. One I have a lot more thoughts on, and would love to keep going, but I'm short on time. So I'll save it for another day. But the point is, just try to show love for those around you. Make each decision with the other person's feelings in mind. Try to understand the way they view it, they look at it. What they're going through. That's the reason I like the enneagram so much. It helps me understand. 

Anyways, I love you all so much!!! Go make it a great week! 

-Elder Trezise