Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations

Dear Family,
Thank you for writing me! I hope my letters aren't getting boring. I
think the weeks sometimes flow together and it's difficult not to see
the unique things that happen every day. There's a lot of small
miracles that happen in response to our faith. This past week I
concluded my study of the Godhead. I've been studying it every day for
the past three months. I've learned a lot about the history of the

Canada in Winter

largest religious debate of mankind. After Christ and his apostles
were killed off there was much confusion in the church because of
priesthood authority being vacant. Rather than simply reading the
scriptures to discover the nature of God and the Godhead, creeds were
formed and rebels persecuted.

One such instance was the case or Arius. Arius was low on the totem
pole in terms of church leadership yet he advocated for the idea of
God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost being three separate
beings. A higher level bishop put Arius to death and with all of the
confusion Constantine- a pagan-called for the council of Nicaea. God
was defined as having no body, parts, or passions. James E. Talmage
said that no other indication of people not knowing God was made more
apparent than the Athenasian creed. Scriptures were then interpreted
using Greek philosophy supposing that all physical matter was evil and
because God is not evil he could not be physical. Thus entered the era
of Modalism or Sabellianism: the belief that Christ, God, and the
Spirit were the same being but could express himself in different
modes. I've talked to thousands of people and this is their
understanding of who God is. It has been taught to them for centuries
and anything foreign is a difficult thing to swallow. Our knowledge of
the Godhead was restored to the earth when Joseph Smith saw God and
Jesus Christ as two separate beings. Other scriptures that effectively
teach the true nature of the Godhead are the baptism of Jesus (Matthew
3), the atonement of Christ (Luke 22) and the Saviour's advent to the
Nephites in 3 Nephi 11. It is important to know what we worship just
as it is important to know how to worship. I know of this reality
because I've had experiences with each member of the Godhead.

This past week we really hit the pavement for finding. Last winter I
made a lot of excuses to work inside making phone calls or tracking
down people on Facebook. It's important to do that but not all of the
time. Why else would I have bought the thermals and the winter coat?
The first investigator we found was Claud through street contacting
through the neighborhood. Claud is from Bathurst and has had a lot of
trials in his life. He lost his job last year and had some family
members pass away so he's not holding on to a lot right now. We taught
him more about the Plan of Salvation and he agreed to read the Book of
Mormon so we're pretty excited to see where he goes with his testimony
in God.


The next investigator we found was Raphael from Cambelton, NB. He's a
young 20 year old guy who's escaped a lot of drugs and alcohol and
wants to come closer with a higher power. I would say even if
millenials aren't as religious as older people, millenials are much
more open and nicer than the old catholic guy that yells at you to
quit wasting his time and yours. Younger investigators are great

Making kijiji ads. Never felt more like a JW
(Mom's note:  we're glad he's still got his sense of humor)

because they are making a lot of decisions in their life and
spirituality is in that bin. We're teaching both Raphael and Claud
tonight back to back so it should be a productive Monday evening.

The final investigator that we found and taught was a part member
family, the Umahosas. They are from Rwanda (shout out to Scott) and

The people at pizza delight got us chocolate for being such loyal
customers every Monday

speak Kirwanda, French, and English. The two young women, Euricie and
Eudine are members of about three years but aren't active, and we're
teaching the mum Judith who isn't a member yet. We have to teach very
simply so that they all understand what we're saying. There's really a
language barrier but we're making some headway on the restoration. The
whole family has got these great exotic names like Aneekay, Lenik,
Yaneekay. And then there's Kevin who's 4. Hilarious family who are a
lot of fun to teach.


HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!

Love,

Elder McGuire