His testimony of Missionary work grows

Most of Elder Shapcott's letters are short and sweet. He still has not sent his memory card or emailed any pictures home. I guess he wants to keep us in suspense. We can see how much his testimony has grown and how much he loves preaching and teaching the gospel. He also encourages us at home to be member missionaries. As an example of this Elder Shapcott included the following talk by Elder Russell M. Ballard given to the Graduates of BYU on August 13, 2009 of which Elder Shapcott's cousin, Megan Balli, was a Graduate of which I have included in part.


Elder Ballard states,
..."I also want you to know that you have an exciting and meaningful service to the Lord ahead of you. I recognize that years of sacrifice by your parents, as well as by each of you have helped you become who you are. Today, I look at you and recognize your own years of commitment to the Church and to nourishing of your own testimonies through study and application of gospel principles. I look at you and see the future of the Church - not just the future bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents and auxiliary leaders, but the great ranks of future mothers and fathers, Primary and Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, home teachers and visiting teachers, scout leaders, choir directors and countless others who will serve the Lord in the 21st century.

..."If we want to be respected today for who we are, then we need to act confidently - secure in the knowledge of who we are and what we stand for, and not as if we have to apologize for our beliefs. That doesn't mean we should be arrogant or overbearing. Respect for other's views should always be a basic principle for us - it's built right into the Articles of Faith. But when we act as if we are a persecuted minority, or as if we expect to be misunderstood or criticized, people will sense it and respond accordingly."

He goes on to suggest how to engage in conversations with people who are not members of the Church non-defensively.

"First suggestion: Don't let irrelevant issues drown out the more important subjects. An example is polygamy. This ended in the Church as an official practice in 1890. It's now 2009. Why are we still talking about it? It was a practice. It ended. We move on...don't waste time trying to justify the practice of polygamy during the Old Testament times.

"Second suggestion to you is to emphasize that Latter-day Saints follow Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches. We try to follow Him in all that we do.

..."Whenever you are having a conversation about the Church, you should try to make this a point. We follow Jesus Christ. We try to live as He taught. That's the basis of our faith and our lives. This is the strongest non-defensive position you can take.

..."Now here are just a few examples. We follow Jesus Christ's doctrine of service to our fellow man.

...We follow Jesus Christ and teach the first principles of the gospel and all of the other wonderful doctrines of the restoration that when embraced and lived bring peace, joy and happiness to the sons and daughters of God.

...I invoke a blessing on you that our Heavenly Father will enlighten you and bless you in every way when you have the opportunity to explain to the Church the marvelous message of the Restoration and to explain to those who are not members of the Church, that you might be blessed and you may have heavenly direction and that you may stand positive in your own feelings, and never feel that you need to be on the defensive being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."