Elder Jace Yeoman: Hola!

Hello all!
I hope this week has been a good one!! This past week we had transfers so I am still in Derqui, but my companion is a new missionary, Elder Lugo from Mexico. He is my first companion from Mexico and he is hilarious. He is already an incredible missionary and is a ball of energy! We are working well together!!

I feel like this past week we talked to every single person in our area haha, Well, that is a big exaggeration but we talked to a lot of people! President Teixeira is our Area President and we had a conference with him this past week. He was really emphasizing the importance of opening your mouth everywhere! It was an incredible meeting and I learned a lot and have a lot to apply here in Derqui! Presidente Teixeira was actually a mission president in my dad's mission in Brazil before he became a general authority! And he lived in Germany before that and President Uchtdorf was his stake president, so thats cool!

I read something in Preach my Gospel the other day that was talking about unfairness in the world. And I have gotten the question a lot in my mission, "If God exists, why do I have so many bad things happen to me, and why is there so much bad in the world?" And I read 2 things this week that answers this question very well. One was a phrase in preach my gospel that says mas o menos:

"Everything unjust in the world is made just through the Atonement of Christ, the Atonement of Christ is the remedy to all injustice."

This one cut me to the core. Who are we to say that anything is unjust when the only perfect man to walk the Earth had to pay the price for all of our sins? Jesus Christ made everything just through his Atonement, but the only injustice is the fact that our price was paid. I am forever grateful for that act of pure love that enables me to be able to progress and overcome all things to be able to live eternally.

Another is from a talk that I read this week called "That I Might Draw all Men Unto Me" by Elder Renlund. It says:

The concept—“the greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement”—also has profound spiritual applications. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, JesusChrist, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We begin to think that we deserve grace and are owed blessings. We are more prone to look around, identify inequities, and feel aggrieved—even offended—by the unfairness we perceive. While the unfairness can range from trivial to gut-wrenching, when we are distant from God, even small inequities loom large. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now!

So what is really the problem? They have distanced themselves from God, and feel more that they are entitled blessings. The Apostles and Prophets definitely know what they are talking about. And that is why they give us so much guidance to be able to keep our lives and ourselves close to Heavenly Father, through scripture study, prayer, going to church, and trying to be the best you can be! The problem never is more than the fact that we aren't doing all the things we need to be doing. Of course, we will still have trial and difficulties and problems, but as we grow closer to Heavenly Father we will have the comfort and peace we need to be able to overcome all things, because that is what the Atonement offers, if we ACT!

"The closer we are to Jesus Christ in the thoughts and intents of our hearts,the more we appreciate His innocent suffering, the more grateful we are for grace and forgiveness, and the more we want to repent and becomelike Him. "

If we are closer to Christ we appreciate and think more about what He did for us. We begin to be thankful for what we have, what He has done for us, and try harder to follow Him. And I know that is true, the closer we are to Christ, the more happy we will be! Our lives will never be perfect, and we will never be perfect, but we will be happy and have peace!

I am so very grateful for my Savior, and for this opportunity to represent Him. My time is going by really fast, but I have been able to apply this principle and know that it is how we truly find happiness!

I love you all!

Elder Yeoman