Chapter 60: Influence

"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile."

Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-42

Another incredible week, full of ups and downs within the ins and outs, but ultimately, I feel as if God's work was done this week and I'm happy to have been a part of it.

We experienced some incredible miracles. Last week I shared some of my thoughts on the importance of sacrifice and how it requires our faith to simply do what we can control. Well Elder Danielson and I did just that this week and God decided that we were ready to teach two of his families. We miraculously came into contact with people this week and now have two families preparing for baptism before the end of the year!

God truly is in the details and I feel very grateful that he decided now was the time for them to be found, taught, and prepared. It really could've been anyone, and so I'm excited for this opportunity.

With that said, this week I've been thinking a lot about influence, and how we are to control or use our influence on others. As a missionary, I've found that I carry a lot of influence on other missionaries, members of the church, and even just people that we meet and teach. I believe each of us has some sort of influence over others in our lives in ways we may not recognize, and because of that, it is important to think about it and seek to make such an influence positive.

How is that done? I believe that the answer is taught best by the Prophet Joseph Smith in a revelation he received while in Liberty Jail. He emphasizes these guiding attributes to help us understand how to have a positive influence on others:

Persuasion— when one helps others to believe or to do.

Long-suffering—having or showing patience in spite of troubles, especially those caused by other people.

Gentleness—the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered.

Meekness—the quality of one who seeks to humbly learn from others and readily accept counsel while also being free with praise.

Love unfeigned—pure, genuine care and concern for others' wellbeing

Kindness—the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

Pure knowledge—true, justified belief; certain understanding as opposed to opinion. Pure in the sense of Gospel-related truths.

I believe it is easy to see how all these would help our influence over others be positive instead of negative, for ultimately, these are all attributes of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

When we look to his example, we never need to wonder how to behave, especially in regards to how we treat and set an example for others.

I'm trying my best to be the best influence I can on the people I come into contact with, and I encourage you to do the same.

Life is good.

God is wise.

Don't give up.

Elder Childers

The Dundee Coat of Arms

Pictures from the Poppy Appeal here in Dundee: Me in front of the McManus Art Gallery

Me with my favorite pass-along card

Me and Elder Danielson talking to the kids

Me and Eldee Yorgason in front of Caird Hall

The Dundee Zone

Me chatting with Elder Danielson, Elder Beal, and Elder Threlkeld

District Pday in Dundermline!

Found a cool statue

Sister Grant got in my picture