Dear Crotzer Family!
Happy holidays! ¡Feliz Navidad! I hope this finds you all in good health and happiness.
Sarah, your science fair experiment that you wrote to me about at Thanksgiving was hilarious! Those kids... Keep me updated on the long term results!
Madelyn, I haven't heard too much from you except that you lost a tooth and finally got a book from the library. How was your book?
If you guys are struggling to find things to talk about or share with me, I would love to hear about what you learned or did in Family Home Evening that week, or what you learned in a daily scripture study!
Mama, thanks for sharing your story with me. You gave me valuable insights, and right now my companion and I are trying to work more closely with the members. We are trying to train them and give them the materials needed to share the Gospel with their non-member friends. My companion and I realized that most of the lasting conversions that we could think of came from members sharing their beliefs with their friends. The fruits of working with members don't usually come right away, but these conversions will be stronger and longer lasting.
Papa, sounds like everything is trucking along like usual. I hope all the snow machines are working well and not giving you too much trouble. If you can't think of anything to write about, I would love to hear about how a home teaching lesson went, how you strengthened a family, or how you are magnifying your calling as elder's quorum counselor.
I want to share some advice, the advice of a person who is dedicating every waking moment of his life to learning how to have a happy, successful life through the Church of Jesus Christ, and then how to teach that to others. I've learned a few things in the ~7 hours of study every day and the ~6 hours of proselyting, and these things have changed my perspective of life and the world. I've changed from a worldly perspective to an eternal perspective.
Who cares if your friends think you're crazy for your religion? It's the only true religion on the earth. Who cares if you have to live a life of rules and commandments? I can bear testimony of the blessing of following all of the commandments. If your friends think honesty is overrated, chastity is old-fashioned, and religion is for old people, then you need new friends.
The purpose of life is to become like God, and there's only one way to do that: living the commandments. Obedience is the first law of God. And everything starts simply. There are just three simple things that you have to do. Pray to God personally every day, study the scriptures every day, and attend Church every Sunday.
I promise that if you do these things, you will have desire to obey the commandments, and a desire to become like Christ. You will increase in wisdom and knowledge and understanding. And you will have a purpose in life to work towards.
It took me to go on a mission to learn this, and none of you will have that opportunity for a while. So my prayer for you is for you to consider where your vision in life is. Is it focused on tomorrow, next week, next year, or the eternities? We all know the correct answer.
Con mucho amor,
-Elder Thomas Crotzer
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