Alma 32:21

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjena!

This week was great! As usual, we worked hard. But it wouldn't be a great week if we didn't! We were able to spend a lot of time finding, teaching, and serving this week. And it feels great to be able to work as the Lord's servant in this little corner of His vineyard.

One of the people we met on the street this week showed up at church on Sunday! He loved it and is excited to have us come over and teach him more an we're more than excited to come over and teach him more.

This week was also the Swedish holiday called Valborg. To celebrate, one builds a giant pile of wood and then burns it. It symbolizes burning away winter and welcoming the spring. It's so raw, primeval, and Scandinavian. I love it.

Elder Renlund, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles--one of the highest governing bodies of the church--came to Sweden this week to speak to the members and the missionaries. It was fantastic. He's Swedish too so he gave his talk in Swedish! The members were so happy and proud, it was adorable. He spoke a lot about faith and what it means to hold on and act in faith. It was a very inspiring and inspired message tailored for the people of Sweden.

Again, I cite Alma 32. One of the best discourses ever written and perhaps my favorite chapter in all of scripture. Faith does not mean we know everything and it never will. That's made clear by this verse. But something else we learn by this verse that I think is very meaningful is that faith is a hope. Belief without hope is not and cannot be true faith. Faith is inspiring and motivating. The hope our faith brings us motivates us to act and it is then that our faith grows and testimony as well as blessings are received.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

Alma 18:24-28

(Aldste Cummings)

Hey all!

This week was tons of fun! Unfortunately, nearly all of our appointments we had scheduled were all REscheduled and we weren't able to meet very many people this week, but we saw tons of small miracles as we patiently pressed forward!

For example, after an appointment was canceled rather unexpectedly, Elder Burns and I filled up the vacant time by going downtown to talk to people on the street. While we were there, we ran into a girl Elder Harris and I had talked to over a month ago who was very interested in learning more but that we couldn't get in contact with. After a short conversation with her, she expressed her strong desire to learn more about the Book of Mormon and we set up a lesson with her for this week! We rescheduled with the person we were going to meet and now we will have lessons with both! It's incredible how the Lord leads us to where we need to be even if we thought something or someone else was more important as long as we patiently follow His plan and His timing.

This week, I chose the scripture where Ammon teaches the King about the nature of God by first helping him realize that he already believed in God. I chose this because of an experience Elder Burns and I had last night while we were tracting. We talked to this man and after a short, casual conversation, we asked him if he believed in God.

He responded that didn't, but that he might believe in some impersonal higher power (classic Swede). We then--following the direction of our mission president to ask inspired, probing questions--asked him if he believed there is a life after death, if the higher power he believes in is directly involved in that life after death, if he believes the higher power can actively make choices, if the higher power cares about him personally, and if the higher power is all knowing and knows what is best for him, and if he would trust the higher power if it commanded him to do something. To all of these questions, he answered affirmatively.

I then felt prompted by the Spirit to be a little bolder than I usually would be comfortable with and, with this scripture in mind, said to him: "This higher power you believe in sounds a lot like the god we believe in. My friend, you believe in God." We then invited him to learn more about the things that God has commanded him to do to be happy in this life and he graciously accepted.

This experience was evidence to me that most--if not all--people have an innate knowledge that God is there and that He loves them. Sometimes that knowledge is hidden in a dark corner of the heart that is intentionally ignored or overlooked; but it's there nonetheless.

I witness that God lives and loves us. He waits for us to turn to Him and is never turned away from us.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. Majestic.

2. Your boys.

3. That's right. I live here.

4.That's right. I live here part 2.

Alma 32:34

(Aldste Cummings)

Hello!

This week has been quite exciting! Elder Burns and I have been putting in some good work into our beloved Karlskrona and we're seeing some great progress! It's also an incredible 70 degrees right know which feels downright awesome.

On Friday, we were walking around town talking to people about the gospel when a woman called us over from an outdoor cafe table where she was sitting with her husband. She proceeded to ask us genuine questions about what we believe in and after about a 15 minute discussion--which concluded with her saying "1000 years ago everyone laughed at the people who thought the world wasn't flat. Everyone laughs at the Mormons now, maybe we ought to give them a chance"--they invited us over for dinner for the following week!

That experience--along with a couple of others over the past couple of weeks--has made me very excited for the work we will have on our plate in the near future. The Lord is truly blessing us!

The verse I chose this week teaches a principle that I often discuss with people on the street. We meet a lot of people who don't believe in anything because they don't think about it and feel like they can get by without any sort of faith in anything. For these people who have no real religious background, we teach to their level and promise them that a faith in God makes a difference in our life. A difference that is noticeable and positive. Once someone has experienced that difference, they no longer have to believe that it makes a difference because they have literally experienced it themselves.

Each of us has had experiences in our lives that we base our thoughts, decisions, and quite frankly our entire lives on. Things that we know to be true and faithful because we have experienced them for ourselves. But we can't know something is true until we first exercise the faith necessary to try. I would encourage each of you to reflect on what those experiences are that are the building blocks of your life and make a goal to plant a new seed of faith to experiment with.

Gain a testimony of one more thing this week.

Love,

Elder Cummings

Amos 3:7

(Aldste Cummings)

Hello everybody!

I hope you all had a great week, because we sure did!

On Wednesday, I met my new companion and son, Elder Burns! He's a stud from Connecticut, so we have the East Coast thing in common which is super fun. He's a hard worker and loves learning the language and is already making great progress with it! On the train ride down, he was able to bear his testimony to potentially change the life of a man we sat with in the dining car. The man very quickly recognized us as servants of the Lord and revealed to us his most personal thoughts and feelings--feelings that he had never shared with anyone else.

The man was especially touched by the fire in Elder Burns' eyes and the strength of his spirit. He broke down in tears when he discovered that they both shared the same name: Anthony. The man gave us his number and we sent it along to the missionaries in his area where they will contact and try to help him come yet closer to Christ. Way to go, Elder Burns!

This week, we were privileged to hear from the Lord's Prophet, Apostles, and other ordained servants during the Church's semi-annual General Conference. What and experience it was to listen to them speak and receive the witness of the Spirit that this truly is the Lord's church and is led by living prophets. I testify that President Nelson is a Prophet of God who not only receives revelation for the Church, but also the entire world. I would encourage each and every one of you to listen to and obey the counsel he reveals from the Lord. After all, "surely the LORD GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets"(Amos 3:7).

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings

1. Three generational photo. From left to right, Elder Martineau (My father, Elder Burns' grandfather), Me (Elder Martineau's son, Elder Burn's father), and Elder Burns (Elder Martineau's grandson, my son).

2.  No more ice on the sea!

3. Elder Burns and I in stan.

4. Kebab pizza.

5. Elder Burns and I as we point to our assigned proselyting area.

1 Nephi 2: 19-20

(Aldste Cummings)

Hey everyone!

This week was pretty exciting! As it turns out, I will be assigned to serve with a missionary coming directly from the MTC for the next twelve weeks! It will be pretty exciting seeing as he won't be able to speak practically any Swedish for a couple weeks and I'll have to handle nearly everything that goes on. In missionary-lingo, this means that I am becoming a "father" and my new companion will be my "son." I'm really excited to meet him on Wednesday!

With this new assignment, I got the opportunity to attend a training meeting in Stockholm and got to stay the night in the office there with a couple other elders. It was super fun. It is a 6 hour one-way trip though so that was a little "jobbigt" as Swedes say. I'll be making the trip there and back again this week to meet my new companion so I'll have a good amount of travel time this week as well.

The scripture I chose this week stuck out to me while I began to read the Book of Mormon again from the beginning. I liked it a lot, not only because of what it says, but also because of the context it gives when compared with the beginning of the next chapter. The Lord counsels Nephi to keep His commandments and comforts him with blessings he will receive in doing so. Then--as the scriptural record would seem to indicate--only minutes later, his father--prophet of God--relates to Nephi how the Lord had commanded him and his brothers to return to the land of Jerusalem and confront Laban in request for the genealogical records of the Jews.

Nephi immediately relied on the counsel he had just been given from the Lord to follow His commandments to the letter. This is an example to us of how the Lord not only prepares a way to follow His commandments, but also prepares us to receive them! I would encourage each of you to reflect on how you have been prepared by the Lord to accomplish His purposes.

Have a great week!

1. TU is the abbreviation we use for "Potential Investigator" in Swedish. We thought it was funny but you guys probably won't. I decided to send it anyway.

2. This is the biggest dog I have ever seen. You can't really tell because no one is standing next to it to reference to, but it's head reached well past my elbow.

 

John 15:26

(Aldste Cummings)

Hey all!

This week was a whole lot of fun. We had zone conference in Malmö so we got to travel there on Tuesday and spend some time with the other missionaries in the zone. We don't really get to see each other often, so we make the most of the opportunities we have to catch up.        

As far as the work in Karlskrona goes, it's starting to pick up! We've had a lot of people we've been trying to meet with over the last 5 weeks but have had a hard time scheduling it all. It's looking like the stars will align this week though! We're really excited.     

We met a family on Saturday who had been taught by the missionaries 12 years ago but decided to stop taking the lessons. We met the father and mother and their daughter (who was in the womb last time they met the missionaries) and were able to talk a little bit. They invited us over again this week and want to start taking the lessons again! It's very exciting.

Another fun success story, Camilla--who Elder Cluff and I had the opportunity to teach and see baptized in January--and Ståle got married last week! I'm so happy for them. They intend to be sealed in the temple next year and I am looking forward to being able to be with them then. They are incredible and I love them so much. I'm so grateful the Lord allowed me to meet and spend so much time with the two of them.

This week I've been focusing my scripture study on how the Spirit speaks to us and what the fruits of the Spirit are. There is a very good activity on page 96 of Preach My Gospel that gives a lot of good insight into how the Holy Ghost has a hand in our lives. I've taken the time to reflect on and even write down a lot of the spiritual experiences that I've had that I haven't written down or reflected on as a cumulative whole. This week I've certainly strengthened my testimony of the reality of the Holy Ghost--or the Comforter as Christ calls it in John 15:26. I know the Spirit really is there and can speak to us if we are willing to drown out all the other distracting voices and listen. I would encourage all of you to take some time this week and reflect on how God has spoken to you through His Spirit throughout your life.

Have a great week!

Love, Äldste Cummings

1. Elder Harris and I dropping a beat between doors during a tracting stund

2. Me impersonating how every Swedish teenager looks and walks​

Alma 12: 14-15

(Aldste Cummings)

Tjena!

This week was a good one. I don't think I've ever said that a week hasn't been good in any of these emails. I guess that's because they're all good!

This is finals week with all the college students so a lot of the people who would like to meet with us were busy with studying and stuff. We spent a lot of time with the Sweden Stockholm Mission classic: Stan. That is to say, downtown. "Stan" is short for the Swedish word "Staden" which means "the city" and just means, like I said, downtown. It's generally where all the stores and malls are and the streets are closed to car traffic. That's where we as missionaries talk to people and try to find people who are interested in learning more about our glorious message. We had some pretty good success with that this week and are excited for the weeks ahead!

As for the scripture I chose this week, it's a little depressing maybe. We as members of the church tend to focus our attention on "the blessed and happy state of those who keep the commandments of God"(Mosiah 2:41) and not so much on the other side when it comes to judgment day. I admittedly don't like to think about it either, but oftentimes feel that people misunderstand what is going to happen that day.  I've met a lot of people here who seem to be pretty proud of their defiance before God. Most recently and clearly, a man said to us yesterday, "If God exists, I am a child of Satan."

No one will be proud of wrongdoing when we stand before the bar of God. We will not be punished because God made an arbitrary decision that such would not be tolerated in the kingdom of heaven. Rather, as a law outside of His control, such can not be tolerated in the kingdom of heaven. We will stand before Him with a perfect knowledge of our sins and "acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just."

God is a loving father who created this world for us with the desire that ALL of us would return. He has done everything to make that possible. He will not shut us out because he doesn't want us to live with Him, our own wicked actions will deny us the opportunity according to the universal law of justice. In fact, it would be more comfortable for us to be separated from Him than stand unworthily in His presence.

With that in mind, let us always "acknowledge [our] unworthiness before God"(Alma 38:14) and strive with all energy of spirit to be worthy to look into his face and worthily accept His loving embrace.

Have a great week!

Love,

Äldste Cummings