Long Time No See :)

Long time no see！好久不见！It has been a long time since I have had time to write an email! I apologize for the lack of updates. I also want to wish all the mothers a happy mother’s day. I appreciate all the mothers in the world, but most especially my own incredible, wonderful mother! 

Well, a lot has happened since I last emailed. I have traveled to many places and have experienced many things! Lots of fun pictures! I have been incredibly busy all week long! I don't really have a p-day because I am always helping other missionaries or doing what my mission President needs, but I have finally found some time to write this email. 

Let's get into the last month's highlights: 

–I have been privileged to be able to drive in other parts of Australia! The best part is driving close to the “outback.” The speed limit is 110 kph. Pretty fun if you tell me! 

–I helped give my companion a haircut and it was a fade. It looked pretty good for my first time cutting someone's hair haha. 

–I have seen some crazy wildlife! I drove 6 hours down to Portland. Which is at the very very bottom of Australia. I was privileged to see my first alive kangaroo. The only ones I had seen were roadkill! I also was able to see a live koala chilling in a tree! The size of the animals always surprises me. Everything in Australia is smaller than in America, except for the animals. 

–One night we were able to have Portland fish and chips! Australia is famous for its fish and chips, but Portland fish and chips are famous among the mission for the best fish and chips restaurant in Australia. It was pretty good! The missionaries have become good friends with the owner and so he had us bring snicker bars….and he deep fried the snicker bars in his fish batter and wow deep fried snickers is my new favorite treat! I don't really care for dessert anymore because I had the best dessert on the planet with those deep fried fish batter gooey snickers bars haha. I love having good connections ;) Afterwards, we went back to the flat and had a good discussion about Alma 42 at 10:00pm. And I just had to smile thinking where else in the world were 4 teenage boys discussing Alma 42 at 10pm at night haha! I love being a missionary!

–My companion and I love this new burger place we found. The best burger is called “bigger than Texas” and it has a burger patty, bacon, chicken patty, and shredded pork.  It is very filling haha. 

–I have helped a lot of new missionaries come into the mission and get settled and I have helped send missionaries home after they have completed their mission. It is pretty amazing seeing the flow of missionaries in and out of the mission. 

-After going to Portland, I had the opportunity to run exchanges with the Elders and Zone Leaders up in Darwin. So it took a 4 hour flight to get there, but it was worth it! We spent a week up in the northern territories and wow that week changed me! I learned and grew so much! It is a completely different mission up in the NT. I saw so many miracles and there are too many stories to tell. After I was in Darwin, I flew over to Maningrida. It is way out in the bush of Australia! It is either a 11 hour drive on unmarked dirt roads or a 1 hour plane ride. So we took the plane ride option since it was safer. It was about as 3rd world country as you could get out there! We pretty much camped for a couple days. It was so hot and so humid! I was dripping sweat all day long! It was pretty brutal, haha. But it was well worth it! I had so many incredible experiences and so many funny stories that I don't have time to tell. We were able to baptize a couple people out there, but because there is no font we had to baptize them in the ocean. And it was infested with salt water crocodiles so they had to bring a big spear out in the water for the baptisms in case they decided to attack then! Thankfully all our prayers were answered and no one was hurt or eaten. The people out in Maningrida had so much belief in Jesus Christ and it was incredible to see! I loved being able to sit and teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ all week long! It was amazing to see baptisms, the Holy Ghost bestowed, and ordinations to the priesthood. I witnessed so many miracles and the tender mercies of the Lord. It is a week that changed my life! I am so grateful for that opportunity to teach the saints and people of Maningrida! 

-In the last month, I have had church in many different places and it has been so special to see. I have had sacrament in the usual massive church chapels, I have had sacrament under a tree in Maningrida, I have had it in a members home, and I have also had it in a rented out catholic church. Truly the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone….anywhere and everywhere! 

-I have seen and been privileged to be part of baptisms of the most simple people in the world in Maningrida who are living out in the wild Australian bush with practically nothing. And I have been privileged to have the opportunity to be part of baptisms for highly intelligent Chinese people…some of which are the smartest people I have ever met in my life so far. 

It is truly amazing to see that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone! No matter what! Jesus Christ “inviteth them ALL to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembered the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” 2 Nephi 26:33. 

I hope that no one ever denies someone the opportunity to come unto Jesus Christ! The gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple that a child can understand but so complex that the most intelligent minds on the earth can't fully understand. 

-I learned the difference between belief and faith. There are many people who believe in Jesus Christ, but don't have any faith….think about that! Faith is a principle of action and power! Some people believe, but don't take any action so there is no faith…..

I invite any and all who have not taken action on their belief to take action! There is no neutral ground! Have faith and act on your belief and watch the power that comes into your life! 

-I have enjoyed learning more and more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and becoming more converted to Him! I am truly changing in so many ways! 

Well I could include a lot more and a lot more detail, but I just don't have time! I also think that some things are better left unshared/unsaid due to their sacred nature. I hopefully will be able to send more emails in the future, but I have no idea with the crazy schedule I have. We are getting a new mission president in June and so it will be busy and fun ahead. Lots of work to do! 

Spiritual thought:

I want to start with a quote from Joseph Smith:

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

I want to testify that there is no unhallowed hand that will stop the work of the Lord! Jesus Christ stands at the helm! He will do His work no matter what! I have seen the unhallowed hand trying to stop the work from progressing, but I have seen the Lord's hand reach out and push away those hindrances to keep the work progressing! 

The Prophet Joseph Smith: “What if all the world should embrace this Gospel? They would then see eye to eye, and the blessings of God would be poured out upon the people, which is the desire of my whole soul”..... President Gordon B. Hinckley: “You never can foretell the consequences of that which you do when you talk about the Church with another. … Try it. Taste the sweet and wonderful joy of sharing your testimony of this work with others.”

I invite everyone to start sharing the gospel more! It is not something to be embarrassed about or shy about. It is something that we need to stand for! We need to stand for our faith in Jesus Christ! We must not falter! We must share it with all the world! We all covenant at baptism to serve others…..a part of serving others is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ! What other service is greater than this? Being able to bring someone to Jesus Christ is the best service that can be rendered! I invite everyone to better fulfill their covenant they made at baptism and do something to love, share, and invite people to learn about Jesus Christ! 

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “The restored gospel of Jesus Christ has within it the power to bring deep and abiding happiness to the human soul—something that will be valued and cherished for the rest of time and for all eternity. We are not just trying to get people to join our Church; we are sharing with them the fulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Based on the last line of the last quote, I have a question for everyone to ponder….

Are you converted to the Church or are you converted to Jesus Christ?? 

This is a very important question to ask yourself. If you are converted to the church then you will never be satisfied. There are imperfect people trying to work with and do the will of a perfect God. There will be things done wrong, feelings hurt, diverse opinions shared, and so many other things. The restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ is an ongoing restoration! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ upon this earth! He has sanctioned it. There is no question about it….however there are flaws and imperfections of men….and we must accept that. Don't get so caught up in the church and its history and imperfections.

We must be converted to Jesus Christ. He is the source of absolute truth. He is the light, life, and hope of the world! His path is the way to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. No man can obtain salvation except through Him! Jesus Christ is the one we can trust, He is the only way we can be truly satisfied. He is the reason and the person that makes all things possible for us! Jesus Christ has restored His church upon the earth in the form of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the true church! How grateful we are for Jesus Christ’s church being restored! But we must not get so caught up in the church that we forget to see the pearl of Jesus Christ inside! I fear that we get so consumed with the church that we forget to look at what it is all about and what is all for….it is all for Jesus! It is really Just Jesus! 

Let me share this quote from Boyd K. Packer 

Do you think it possible for those of us who are called upon to speak to draw attention away from this wonderful building long enough to focus on the purpose for which it was built?

Perhaps it can be done with a parable and a poem.

The parable: A merchant man seeking precious jewels found at last the perfect pearl. He had the finest craftsman carve a superb jewel box and line it with blue velvet. He put his pearl of great price on display so others could share his treasure. He watched as people came to see it. Soon he turned away in sorrow. It was the box they admired, not the pearl.

We are all blind, until we see

That in the [universal] plan

Nothing is worth the making if

It does not make the man.

Why build these [buildings] glorious,

If man unbuilded goes?

In vain we build the [world], unless

The builder also grows.

It comes back down to Jesus Christ! It is really Just Jesus!! He is the pearl! Please make Jesus Christ more of the focus of your lives! So many miracles and blessings come from Him! Speaking the name of Jesus Christ holds power! Bring more Jesus into your lives! Come to know Him and what He has done for you! Seek this Jesus whom the prophets have testified!

If you are to talk to someone from another faith and they ask if you believe in Jesus Christ you would say yes. However, the Jesus you believe in is different then the Jesus they believe in. This is because they do not have the restored gospel and information to help them know more about Jesus Christ. With the 4 standard works and the modern day prophets and apostles we have the ability to know who Jesus Christ is better! There is so much false doctrine and ideologies floating around. No one understands the Godhead and who Jesus Christ actually is.

Consider the question….”What think ye of Christ”.....

My invitation is to write down the answer to that question….What think ye of Christ? 

I want to close by answering that question for myself.

What think ye of Christ?

I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

My Jesus taught absolute truth, the reality of our existence, the purpose of life, and our potential

My Jesus performs mighty miracles; My Jesus heals all who come unto Him

My Jesus is the creator; My Jesus is the mediator; My Jesus is the good shepherd

My Jesus is the ultimate way, truth, and life; My Jesus brings eternal happiness

My Jesus glorified the Father; My Jesus is the perfect example; My Jesus was sinless

My Jesus is my rock; My Jesus is Messiah, Jehovah, Lord, and only begotten Son 

My Jesus suffered in the garden of gethsemane; My Jesus bled for me at every pore

My Jesus suffered both body and spirit and drank the bitter cup so that I might not drink

My Jesus suffered for my sins so I may be free and have eternal life; My Jesus is my joy

My Jesus died on the cross for me; My Jesus rose in a resurrected celestial body

My Jesus prepareth a way from the grasp of the awful monster of death and hell

My Jesus carries the crosses of my life; My Jesus has power to raise me from death

My Jesus ransoms me; My Jesus frees me from satan's grasp; My Jesus has power over sin

My Jesus seized the keys of death and hell; My Jesus overcame it all; My Jesus is a conqueror 

My Jesus overcame outer darkness; My Jesus descended below it all; My Jesus is merciful

My Jesus is the captain my salvation; My Jesus is the prince of peace; My Jesus is just

My Jesus is the bread of life, the living water, the deliver, the ultimate sacrifice;

My Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith; My Jesus is the head of the church

My Jesus lives to hear my souls complaint; My Jesus lives to bless me in times of need 

My Jesus is yoked with me; My Jesus is always by my side; My Jesus is my advocate

My Jesus is the Christ; My Jesus is the anointed one; My Jesus is the only begotten

My Jesus has the power to redeem; My Jesus is my Savior; My Jesus is the great I AM

My Jesus is Alpha and Omega; My Jesus is the beginning and the end; My Jesus is my light

My Jesus is my God, my Prophet, my Priest, my King, my Judge, and my Yahweh. 

My Jesus sanctifies, justifies, and cleanses me; My Jesus lives to wipe away my tears

My Jesus will return and reign on earth during the millennium; My Jesus will establish zion

My Jesus stands supreme; My Jesus will help me gain my fondest dream; My Jesus smiles

My Jesus will open the celestial gates; My Jesus is the feet I will kneel at; My Jesus loves me

My Jesus is the one I seek; My Jesus is my strength; My Jesus is the one who I trust

My Jesus is the one I give my heart, mind, and soul to; My Jesus is my all

My Jesus encircles me about eternally in the arms of His love; My Jesus is my everything

My Jesus has engraven me upon the palms of His hands; My Jesus is the covenant keeper

My Jesus is the one and only name whereby I can return home; My Jesus is my hallelujah

My Jesus, My Jesus, My Jesus….

It is really….Just Jesus……

Jesus Christ…..

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Here are some of the photos from the past month! 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uJFbdpZvTeubSkQJ9

Love you all! Sorry for the long email! It might be a while before you get another one. I hope everyone has a fantastic week and enjoys the summer weather! Until next time…..

Cheers,

-Elder Jones (zhang zhanglao)