Warmer ... warmer ...

This week has been pretty good! We taught our first "Book of Mormon Class" on Tuesday, and had tons of success! Our members, and even some investigators, and less actives there, and it ended up just being a giant, somewhat heated testimony meeting, haha! Our members and even some investigators were testifying about the Book of Mormon to other investigators and less actives - it was great!

Other than that, we had District meeting on Wednesday, had tons of choir practice throughout the week (I may be singing a solo come the 23rd... yikes!) Had Korean Sign Language class (as if it isn’t hard enough to just learn Korean, I'm now learning another language here! Haha! We learn it for the deaf members in our ward! So cool, and so nice!) We also got to go to the temple on Thursday, which made my entire week.

The temple is seriously the greatest place. With Korea being so busy and noisy all the time, it's truly refreshing to be somewhere so quiet and peaceful. We seldom get that here. ..And, even though the temple was fantastic, the real highlight of the week was Elder Light and Elder Lion's (We like to call them Elder Dark and Elder Tiger sometimes.. haha) investigator's baptism this week! His name is Yong, he's a 25 year old Chinese man, who has been investigating the Church for about a year now and knows Chinese, English and Korean! He had one of the most beautiful baptismal services I've ever been to, mainly because of his incredible testimony. There were talks and musical numbers amongst members and friends, most of them were from the English branch (which makes me crazy uncomfortable - I have no idea how to interact with English-speaking people who aren't missionaries..), but when Yong bore his testimony it was like he lit the room on fire with his soft spoken voice. It was absolutely awesome, and I don't know if I've ever seen so many people cry at a baptism - Korean and English alike. I also met a missionary from Japan there, who was just on his way home, stopping in Korea with his dad who served here 30 or so years ago. His name was Elder Jackson, from the Kobe Japan mission. He says Elder Pace (a dear friend who is serving there) is a wonderful guy and a great missionary. ..Which is just what I was hoping to hear.

During Yong's baptismal service, a brother gave a talk about the Holy Ghost that hit me a little differently. He talked about how much his son likes to play the game "Hot and Cold" with him in the house. He and his wife hide some kind of treasure, whether it be a cookie, a treat, or a toy, and let their son loose to try and find it. I'm sure you're all familiar with the game. But.. without any help it'd be pretty hard, right? So, the closer he gets, or when he's headed in the right direction, they say "Warmer.. warmer... ooh.. hotter.. hot! Hot! You're red hot!! You're on FIRE!!" So, naturally, when he gets further away, they do the opposite. "Colder.. ...mm.. colder.. cold, cold! Ice Cold!! You're FREEZING!! Wrong way!!" The brother compared this to the Spirit and, how, when the closer we get to our Heavenly Father by making right decisions and going the right direction, the warmer and warmer we can feel the Holy Ghost inside of us. And, vice versa, when we go the other way, or make mistakes, we can feel the Holy Ghost leave and our bodies and insides start to grow colder and colder until we are "ice cold". So, as wonderful and as thrilling as baptism is, it is only the beginning. It is the key to unlocking, unwrapping, and enjoying the gift of the Holy Ghost that will help guide you each and every day for the rest of your life.

..Your goal as an investigator, member, nonmember, less-active, average joe, or superman should be to begin with the end in mind. Focus on the most important goal - the temple - , live worthy and make the right choices so that when the time comes you can receive the enduring blessings of the temple and the Lord can say, "Ooh, hot! Hot!! You're on fire!!!" ..We join this church to make and keep sacred covenants that qualify us for eternal life. We join this church so that our families can be together forever! Other organizations can make your life more pleasant, satisfying, uplifting, sure, but only the Lord's church can provide a way for us to make it all the way back home.

I love you all, and am always praying for and encouraging those approaching and contemplating baptism. Never give up. You're getting warmer! I know that it is one of the greatest decisions you will ever make, and is only the start to the endless blessings that will be available to you. 
Just - don't stop moving. 

Have a wonderful week, everyone!
You're hot! RED HOT!!

All the love,

Elder DeMille!