Teach People, Not Lessons

What's going on everyone!

Not much happened this week, since we have been doing the same thing every day for the past five weeks! 

I'm actually so PUMPED to get out of the MTC. The zone got their travel plans today and I am even more excited to get to France! Ten days left in the MTC and then an incredibly long flight and my time in France will commence. I'm super excited to spread the gospel to the people of France.

Our Sunday night devotional this week was the BYU Men's Choir. It was super cool, they sang so well and brought such a nice spirit with their words. After the devotional I went and saw the Joseph Smith restoration video. It's so inspiring to see the devotion Joseph Smith had towards this work and how he gave his life for what he knew to be true. I aspire to build up my faith and be as he was, a true spiritual Giant among men.

Monday was...interesting. We did a Skype call with a member from Bordeaux named, Adam, and it was quite the experience. He spoke a million miles an hour. I understood a few things he was saying but not much. Then when I would ask him a question he wouldn't understand it and would rephrase it properly, which was nice, but I couldn't understand him when he rephrased it haha. It could have been a slap in the face, but it really wasn't because I don't know the language super well yet. It was pretty amusing and a great learning experience/realization of what I can expect in ten days! 

The Tuesday night devotional was super awesome! We heard from Elder S. Mark Palmer and his Wife. He will be speaking at general conference this weekend, so keep an eye out for him, if you will be watching; if you aren't watching you should because it's great to hear from modern day prophets. His talk was focused on how we can recognize the spirit in our lives, which was great for me because I have been trying to figure out how I can always be in tune with the spirit even when my surroundings are not the most accommodating for the spirit. Ironically, what I got out of his talk wasn't the answer to my question it was an important lesson I needed to be reminded of. The lesson is that the work isn't about me, it's about Heavenly Father's children. Elder Palmer also shared a portion of a letter he received from one of his missionaries while he was a mission president; the words have really stuck with me since I heard them. Once we are converted we go and share - The Greatest Message the World has Ever Known. I thought that was a very profound statement.

I learned one other lesson this week, which I am positive will bless me throughout my mission. That lesson is to Teach People, Not Lessons. With our investigator, Hospice, we taught him lessons directly from the Book of Mormon. They were very interactive lessons, with him answering questions that allowed him to figure out and analyze what he just read himself; my companion and I were more of the guides throughout the lessons. But, yesterday we gave him a lesson straight from one of the pamphlet's we have and the lesson was completely different. It was much more mechanical and although the topics were focused on what Hospice needed to hear, it didn't give him the opportunity to process any of it and figure it out for himself. We just dropped a lot of information on him and I felt like he left feeling confused. I finished that lesson feeling a little unsettled about the way it had gone. I realized that I had no idea what I had been saying in the lesson because I was reading from the pamphlets and that doesn't help me at all and that it was much harder to bear testimony and be guided by the spirit because we were just trying to finish the lesson. That is why the lesson I learned was "To Teach People, Not Lessons." Each investigator is unique and each lesson has to be tailor made for that investigator. It has to be pondered over, prayed over, and given the proper amount of preparation - reading from a script is not a tailor made lesson. Teaching from the Book of Mormon and allowing the spirit to direct and guide your thoughts is what we need to do in every lesson; to focus on the simple truths taught and then help the investigator understand those doctrines. When we fully surrender our will to Heavenly Father, he can then direct our words, through his spirit, and enable us to teach people and not lessons.

Nothing else has really happened other than that. Just super excited to finally get to France and begin my mission. 

à bientôt 

Elder Molinari

The Work Is True

WOOOO!!! I've had a great week, complete opposite of last week.

Where to begin?!

On Sunday I was still feeling the effects of our district switch and I was really trying to feel the spirit all day. I didn't really feel it until one of the Elders in my district, Elder Tropna, and I went and watched a documentary about President Monson. During the video the spirit was so strong in the room and the first time I really felt it a thought went through my head. the thought was "what have I been doing?" I realized I had been wasting so much time moping around and complaining about the district change and I wasn't trying to give it a chance. I started to think about all of the differences between my new class and my old class. My new class is more focused around learning the language and figuring out how to be a missionary by yourself, my other class was figuring out how to be a missionary and learn the language on your own. I came to the conclusion that Heavenly Father has a plan for me, a plan that I can't understand or fully comprehend at this moment and that the switch happened for a reason. The reason is simply that Heavenly Father trusts me to become my own missionary and that I need to focus on learning french right now. My old companion, Elder Laurie, told me that he thinks I know how to be a missionary already, I know how to teach the lessons and I know how to teach with power, but I need to learn the language now. I can continue to move forward with faith that everything will work out. I think a quote from Gordon B. Hinckley fit my situation perfectly when he said, "Carry on. Things will work out. If you keep trying and praying and working, things will work out. They always do." 

On Tuesday our weekly devotional speaker was Elder W. Craig Zhwick and his wife. They gave wonderful talks which were focused on creating a vision for what the Lord wants us to become and increasing our faith to build the kingdom of God. One of the best quote's from Elder Zhwick's talk was "You can change lives just by who you are." How awesome is that??? I'm sure there are plenty of missionaries who feel inadequate about their gospel knowledge or their ability to communicate in a new language, but it really doesn't matter. We have been called by God to serve in our missions, there are people out there prepared to receive the message of the restoration of the gospel and we are capable of sharing that message just as we are. I don't remember much else from his talk, all I remember is the incredible spirit that I felt throughout his talk. This was his last talk at the MTC as he will be released from the Quorum of the Seventy in this next general conference. All I can say is, Elder Zhwick taught with power, he taught with the spirit, and there was no denying his testimony of this work. 

I have to put in a small segment about my old teacher Frere Adams. He met with me this week to see how I was doing and if I needed any help with teaching the lessons, and we pretty much came to the conclusion that I can teach all of the lessons in a simple enough way the investigator can understand. Then we started talking about my companionship and how that was going, He made me realize I was being a little stubborn about not giving my new companion a try and that got me thinking a lot. I reflected on myself and what I could do better, so I decided I needed to be more kind and show more Christ like love. It's made all the difference in our relationship. My teacher also met with my companion, and I have no idea what he said to Elder Greenland, but ever since then my companion has been super happy and talkative and we are getting along GREAT! I think my biggest flaw is judging too quickly and not having enough patience, I'll be working on that for the next two years. My companion is also a marine, so I workout with him during our gym time and it's so AWESOME. The workouts are super tough and you don't really get to rest at all. I love it. 

My last paragraph will be about the power of the gift of tongues. Last night my companion and I were addressing a question our investigator, Hospice, had. The question was "why is the gospel important for me personally?" We decided to teach him using Alma chapter 36. Our goal was to really make the gospel feel important for him and for him to receive that confirmation through the spirit. The lesson was amazing. We went in there and began reading the scriptures and asking him questions, questions that made him figure out why the gospel was right for him. The context of Alma 36, is Alma telling his son Helaman about his conversion and how he called upon Jesus Christ seeking forgiveness for his sins. The gift of tongues took over in that lesson. I pretty much gave the entire lesson, which was about 30 minutes long, and I got the message across I wanted to. Hospice stopped us half way through one of the scriptures and told us he felt pain in his heart for his sins and he wanted to be forgiven of them as Alma was. I bore a testimony to him that he can be forgiven of his sins and that he can receive the same joy Alma felt. Our "investigator," for those that don't know, is our teacher playing someone he met on his own mission. But let me tell you that the spirit was so strong in that room that it almost made him cry. When it comes down to it though, It wasn't me that taught that lesson; it was the spirit. The spirit confirms truth and it confirmed the simple truth that Christ can heal us of all our sins. My companion and I walked out of that lesson and we were both ecstatic. It was the best lesson we have taught so far. I apologized for talking for the whole time and he told me "no no, it's fine! I couldn't understand anything you were saying, but it was amazing!" I can really bear witness of the power of the gift of tongues. The gift of tongues allows me to speak french, but it also allows me to speak and teach with the spirit and that is who really does the teaching.

After that lesson I had class and we studied the Book of Mormon. I want to share one little scripture that stuck out to me. Recently I have been studying the question of "Who is Christ?" I know and have a testimony of what he did, now I need to know who he is. I was having trouble figuring this question out because I didn't want just a cliche answer, I was searching for something else and I wasn't sure what I was searching for; until I found it. In Alma 7:12 it says, 

"And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."

I understood that Christ suffered for us, so that we can return to live with him and Heavenly Father again, but the line that caught my eye was "that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." The scripture caught me off guard because I realized that Christ has as much agency as we have and he CHOSE to suffer for us. He chose to suffer for us for the sole reason of knowing exactly what his people would feel. He knows what we feel spiritually but he wanted to know what we felt in the flesh and so he suffered pains and afflictions that we can't comprehend, so that he could "succor his people." I think that is such a tender thought and that made me see the Atonement in a whole new light. 

After we read that scripture we finished class and our teacher said the closing prayer in French and I was able to understand it all.

I just want to leave you with my testimony, that I know this is truly the Lord's work. I have never felt so much love for people I hardly know, never felt such a strong spirit and focus as I devote my all to serving Heavenly Father's children. The gospel of Jesus Christ brings joy, not just temporal joy, but Eternal joy, a joy that is never ending. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the restored gospel and that I have the opportunity to represent Jesus Christ as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The work is true, I love the work, I love the people, and I love the gospel.

A bientot! 

Elder Molinari

(Elder Molinari's new district)

Change is Constant

Bonjour!

This week was quite difficult for me. On Sunday our branch president met with both of the new french districts and told us that Change is a constant in our life and that our district was being changed. Naturally, when things seem too good to be true, they usually are and so I was switched to the other district. I lost my companions, who I really loved. We were growing together as a companionship and the spirit was so strong wherever we went. My teachers were out of this world amazing and the rest of my district was top notch. It's rather ironic that I said I wished I was in the other district when I entered the MTC and as soon as I begin to mesh with my companions and the rest of the district, I am switched to the opposite district. 

I will admit I was rather annoyed with the change at the beginning of the week but I've just accepted it now. The odd part about this whole situation is that I haven't been able to feel the spirit all week. I haven't been able to focus, study effectively, and my new companion and I do not get along very well. I can't really tell any of you about any spiritual experiences this week because I haven't been able to experience any. I've been praying for understanding on this subject and received one answer, but I already fulfilled the task that I was given in the answer. In my old class I felt like I was excelling and learning to become the missionary I dream of becoming, but now I feel as if I have reached a plateau and am no longer progressing. Sadly there is nothing I can do about the situation.

Either way - I am grateful for the time I had with my companions who pushed me to become the best I can be and my great district. It's time to look forward, having faith in Christ, and to trust that the Lord has a plan for me that is hidden from my view for now. This new district has a lot of issues with focus, reverence, and individual problems and I will try my best to lead as Christ did with my remaining time as District Leader.

I apologize again for the short e-mail, but nothing else has happened this week and I would rather not continue complaining.

Au Revoir,

Elder Molinari

OH I will add one funny thing. I met some Koreans who left for Montreal this week. They were really big into working out and when I did thirty pull-ups in front of them they were AMAZED. They nicknamed me Chuck Norris.

First [Real] Week in the MTC

Bonjour Mes Amis!

After this week I can say that I'm very grateful for both of my companions. I approached them about being a little overbearing in their language use and they took it so well. They have really seemed to humble themselves since then. Both Elder Laurie and Elder Abegg have taken an active role in helping me learn the french as well as the rest of our district. Elder Laurie is a really cool guy, he is super spiritual and has memorized basically every scripture, him and I are so in tune when we are preparing lessons. Elder Abegg is great as well, he's a little more goofy, but he is really trying to humble himself and seek opportunities to turn outward rather than inward. 

A few cool experiences have happened this week as my companions and I prepared for our lessons with the investigator we were teaching named, Jean Baptiste. We were planning a lesson on the restoration and we had created the entire lesson outline; we were basically done. That is until Elder Laurie said something was missing, so we said a prayer and immediately an idea popped into my head and into my companions heads. It was the same idea for all of us - that we needed to teach the plain and simple truths of the Book of Mormon and why it was important. So we redid our entire lesson and taught that lesson instead of our other one. So Jean Baptiste is a portrayed by our teacher, he is a real person that he taught when he served in France. The interesting part of this story happened last night when we my companions and I met with our new teacher, I forget his name it's like Frere Noldau or something, but we met with him and he told us that he is taking a Book of Mormon class at BYU right now and on the day we taught him that lesson about the Book of Mormon he had been wondering to himself why the Book of Mormon was so important and that night we taught him just that. ISN'T THAT SO COOL!?!? Even though we were preparing a lesson for "Jean Baptiste" we were actually directed by the spirit to create a lesson for the actual teacher.

Another experience that stuck out to me this week happened yesterday. I was preparing our last lesson with Jean Baptiste with my companions and we couldn't figure out what we wanted to talk about. Elder Laurie suggested we read the missionary purpose again which is, Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. When I read that the words "come unto Christ" kept sticking out to me and I read it again and again. I knew that since it was our last lesson I wanted to really emphasize Christ's love for Jean Baptiste and our love for him as well. So, I said a prayer trying to figure out what scriptures of Christ I wanted to talk about and the word "Sheep" came into my mind. So I opened my bible and turned to the topical guide and looked up "sheep." I looked at all the scriptural references for sheep and the only one that stuck out was Luke chapter 15, which is the parable of the lost sheep. I turned to that chapter and read the first few verses and the spirit swept over me so powerfully. Long story short - We taught a lesson on the lost sheep and how much our Father in Heaven loves each of us and wants us to return to him.

I'm really loving the MTC. From what I've heard you either love it or you hate it; well I love it. The spirit is so strong here, like unbelievably strong. I've never been in a place where I say a prayer and it's answered almost instantly. Saying that reminded me of two events that happened this week. One was last Friday when my zone went to the temple and my room key fell out of my pocket in the locker I used at the temple. I had no way of getting my key and before I realized that it had fallen out I turned my room upside down looking for it and checked the pockets of the pants I wore three times. Then when we were leaving for dinner, I switched out of my P-day clothes and put on the same suit I had wore to the temple; I reached into my pocket and my key was there. This happened a second time as well, I had forgotten my white handbook in our residence and I needed it for class and searched through my bag to make sure I hadn't just left it in there, but of course it wasn't there. Then right before we used it, I decided to check my bag again and when I opened it, sitting right on top was, of course, my white handbook. These could all be coincidences but I believe there's a larger power at work in the MTC. My awesome branch president, President Mackay, told me how the residences were all set apart by the Senior Brethren. Isn't that amazing??? He said you can feel the spirit very strongly in the temple, but you don't live in the temple. I've thought of that throughout the week because of how strong the spirit is here. 

My companions gave me a blessing on Monday night because I was getting really sick. I am actually still sick right now. I lost my voice on Tuesday and it is still gone at the moment. I haven't been able to talk louder than a whisper for the entire week and when I do talk it's through a lot of pain in my throat. I had a fever, incredible headaches, sinus congestion, and a horrible cough. I went to the doctor and got tested for strep and the flu, but came up negative. I really have no idea why I've been so sick. I feel so bad about it because I haven't been able to talk at all, but my companions and my teachers have all been super understanding about it. I've realized how much the other missionaries love and care for me. Every single day this week the elders and the sisters would ask me how I'm doing, or they would offer me some of their medicine, and they were praying for me. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome Zone that really cares about the well being of each other. 

Update on the language! I still have no idea what's going on during our lessons, which are all in French, but I can piece together some things. I can form sentences now and I can pray in French as well. The gift of tongues is really wonderful because I've learned as much French in one week here as I did in five years of french class. It's very challenging, but I know if I put my trust in the Lord, he will continue to help and bless me. We basically study all day. We wake up at 6:30, then we are in our classroom by 7:15 planning for the day, go to breakfast, then we have our first class from 9-12. A little break, which is usually more studying, then another class at 1:30-4:30. We go eat dinner and then we have our last class from 6-9pm and then we go to bed. I've never studied so much in my life, but I know I can be doing better than I currently am. It's hard learning the language, but it's also incredibly rewarding.

So much has happened in just one week, but I can't type it all! My last few words will be of gratitude towards my district. They've been super awesome and they are all so fun to be with. They really helped me out this week by participating in our district meetings, goal setting, and talking about the Tuesday night devotional - since I couldn't speak very much. It's such a blessing to be able to work with so many amazing Elders and Soeurs. 

OH I ALMOST FORGOT! I had to take a stool sample this week as a requirement to enter Belgium. For those that don't know what that is, let me enlighten you. I had to poop in a cup and scoop some out and put it in a bag. Lovely. I also ate the oatmeal at the mtc this week. I can honestly say that the rumor that they put laxatives in the oatmeal is 100% true. 

On that note!

Au revoir! 

Love,

Elder Molinari

                       

                       

This is my district after the temple this morning! From left to right (1st photo): Elder oberring, Elder masterson, Elder laurie, Elder abegg, yours truly, soeur Enslan, soeur Mecham, soeur Daines, and soeur Giles.                            

One Week Down

Bonjour Mes Amis!

My first few days in the MTC have been packed! After Kirstin, Blake, and Kristoffer dropped me off I was quickly rushed to all these different rooms, got my name tag, and then into my classroom. The teacher spoke only French for the entire time and I have to say - I understood none of it. I've forgotten almost all of my French, but I think I will be ok.

The MTC food is alright, nothing great, nothing awful; It's just your basic cafeteria food. 

Now on to the information everyone wants to hear. I have two companions - Elder Laurie and Elder Abegg. There are two other elders in my district and four sisters and I room with all of the elders. Both of my companions already speak French.

The first day I was at the MTC we did a workshop and it was run by a sister who had served in the France Paris mission. It was actually the sister that I watched all of the youtube videos about which really helped me prepare. I thought that was pretty cool. During that workshop we had the opportunity to teach a nonmember from Italy, who's name was ChiCho. He is a catholic and has had all of his children baptized in the catholic church, all of them except his last child who died at two days old. ChiCho's friend had told him about the plan of happiness, or as he called it, the happy plan and ChiCho thought he wasn't eligible for it because his son had died without being baptized and he was now in limbo. We were able to tell him that his son wasn't in limbo, but he was in heaven and after that Chicho went silent and was overcome by emotion. It was a pretty good experience, if he was really a nonmember.

Thursday we studied, and did some more workshops. My schedule is all over the place because I have only been here for a few days. We are learning a lot of French very quickly. Pretty much everything I thought I learned in four years of french class is being taught in four days of french class here. Hopefully I will be able to pick up a little bit before I leave here, right now I am pretty lost. We are also teaching our first investigator tonight, which should be interesting. 

Last night we met our Branch Presidency and they went over the white handbook and what we do on Sundays. We were also interviews to determine senior companions and district leaders. Both of the new French districts were there. On Sundays we have talk roulet. So we are given the topics of the sacrament meeting talks and then the branch presidency randomly picks anyone from the French zone to give a talk on the subject for 3-5 minutes. Luckily it's fast Sunday this week. As I said earlier we were all interviewed. I was made the district leader. When I met with the Branch President I didn't want an interview I wanted to make it more of a conversation and I think that made the difference. My branch president has such a strong spirit and I told him that and we just chatted a little and had a good time chatting. 

Other than that, nothing else has happened. I'm still trying to get used to being called Elder Molinari. I almost feel like this isn't really happening, but IT IS! When I arrived on Thursday I felt mildly nervous, but then all of our devotionals were talking about feeling homesick and nervous which made me feel nervous! Then I prayed that night and just asked for peace and I feel like I've gotten that peace. I have worked so long to be able to serve a mission and I know this is where the Lord wants me to be. I look forward to the coming weeks and the many things I will learn.

Au Revoir,

Elder Molinari