Planting Seeds!

     This week was such an awesome week. We were able to hand out several Books of Mormon and plant many seeds!
     I have truly realized how this is the happiest and the saddest two years of my life. The "happy" is that I love these people so much and I have realized my responsibility to the Lord and his children.  The "sad" is because it truly is personal to me when I am trying to teach the gospel to someone and they don't want to accept this truth because I could be the Lord's vessel that gives the truth to them. This is their opportunity to return to live with their Heavenly Father for eternity. God is everything that is good. 
     Moroni 7:13 says: But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
     He is everything that is good in this world. That is something that is worth sharing to this world. But many people lack the faith to believe in something that great without seeing Him. But they do not realize what they are losing by turning away from that faith. They lose everything, and if we do the same we will lose everything. If we hold onto our faith, we will receive everything that we could ever ask for. Moroni 7 gives great insight on this also:


21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.

25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you.

     If we have faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and our Father, we can literally lay hold upon every good thing!! Anything we ask of in faith we can receive. Why turn away from a promise with a gift as great as the unmeasurable word, "everything." It is so hard to see God's children push away from that opportunity. I have to rely on my faith to get me through every day of this mission. I still do not know this language, and I am the only white person in this city and I am wearing a shirt and tie and people look at me like an alien a little bit haha. I still do feel inadequate every day because of the mantle placed upon me as a missionary and my duty here in Japan. But I find comfort in the countless promises given to us as missionaries in the mission field. I love what it says in D&C: 68:2-4:

2 And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth.

3 And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.

4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.

     How powerful is that everyone!!?? Whatsoever they speak shall be as scripture!!! The Spirit is so powerful! I strive every day to make my will, mind, and voice one with the Spirit and one with the Lord. If I do not I will not touch anyone's heart. I am but a vessel sent to spread His word.
     All I leave with you this week is a solemn promise. If you hold on to your faith and align your will with the Father's, you will literally lay hold upon every good thing and you will have the guidance of the spirit to guide you through this life and onto the straight and narrow path to our Father's presence. I love all of you and I love this work. It is the truth, light, and joy of this world. It is the testament of the Savior. I am here to serve in his place, and I will give it my all and I will hold nothing back. I challenge you to please do the same.
Take every footstep in faith! Keep your eyes on Christ! I love you all!
Elder Trevor Aiken

He is the Word!

     Hello everyone!  I had a great lesson this week where we have been trying to get this investigator to pray for months and I finally just said, look, I cannot speak this language very well but I can give a short testimony. I did, and the spirit was so strong and he agreed to pray for the first time ever! It was a cool opportunity.  Also this week, I prayed for revelation of what to teach another investigator and I felt I should talk about family history. He has been taught for 40 years now!  His wife would not let him get baptized and he is scared to ask again. But I asked him if he has ever heard of family history and if I could see his ancestors. He said, no it is too difficult to find them. I told him about our website and he
just lit up.  He told me that he would be at the next next Friday at 7:30 if I would teach him about it, so I hope I can renew his desire.  We always set 2 baptismal dates in our mission which I love.  You set their baptismal date and then set the date for them to do the work for their family one month later!



     I love this mission!  I love this country!  I love this people!  I truly treasure the time here I have to serve these people!  But moreover this week I want to talk about the things we need to treasure and hold dear to our hearts in this life. In 3 Nephi 13:19-21 it gives us a clear direction:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust
doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal.

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Could you find a way that it could be better put than in verse 21? I
cannot!  I love how it continues in the next 2 verses.

22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is
that darkness!

     I read this and I realized the truth that encompasses these two short verses. I have said it early every week and I will say it again. KEEP YOUR EYES ON CHRIST!!! The light of the body is the eye because what we set our eyes upon, fills our mind and our whole body with what we have seen. Many people focus their eyes on the lust of drugs, alcohol, and especially today, pornography. These plagues fill our lives with darkness, but if there is one thing we know it is that all darkness is the absence of light. If we set our eyes on the Savior and His teachings, darkness cannot remain where light resides.

     This week I wanted to talk about setting our eyes on Christ, but more specifically his teachings in the scriptures. We need to ask ourselves if we are viewing the scriptures, or are we setting our eyes on the scriptures. Are we letting "thine eye be single," with the scriptures so our bodies can be full of light. Elder Christofferson puts it that "the scriptures remind us of what we knew in the pre-mortal life, but also teaches us about what we were not able to experience in person."  Everyone in this world will feel of the power of the scriptures if they read them because they will remember what they already knew in the pre-mortal life, through feeling and thought. But also, we were not there to kneel at the side of Joseph Smith when he prayed and saw the Father and his Son, but through reading we know that that is true.
     Elder Christofferson continues, and this is my favorite part. He says that "Scripture tutors us in principles and moral values essential in maintaining civil society. Such as integrity, responsibility, selflessness, fidelity, charity." That is so amazing. I love how he puts it that the principles in the scriptures give us essential guidance in maintaining society. When King Benjamin and King Mosiah led their nations, they did so through the teachings of scripture. They led their nation in righteousness and the people loved them. It was only when the Nephites broke away from the scriptures that literally society fell. They broke into tribes and separated. 
     Here is the second point I love. It is the moral values themselves. They describe Christ. They are Christ. It was only through him that society was rebuilt that that time of the Nephites, and it is only through him in his Second Coming that everyone will be saved from the broken
society we will live in.
     Sorry, I just found so much power in the scriptures this week. The words of our modern day prophets is just further scripture basically. In D&C 1:38 we are told:

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voiceor by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

     So my challenge this week is to search these scriptures and let thy eye be single to the Lord and his works. If I have learned one thing here on my mission is that these scriptures have power. They will reach the end of the earth. The prophets of old did not die defending them for the outcome to be anything else. Everyone will receive a chance to read these things in their native language. The Tower of Babel never changed the truth! It might of changed the people's words. But God's word is God's word. I invite you to read these things. But moreover, seek to find what areas of your lives you find that these principles are prevalent, and the areas where they are not. Just fill in the empty spaces in your life with the characteristics of Christ and you shall receive no weakness. We need to be so grateful to have these scriptures given to us by our tender parent, Heavenly Father.       He preserved these words from the hands of the adversary for centuries and now we have them today. Gratitude is the catalyst of all Christlike attributes. Take the scriptures into your life and let thine eye be single so your whole body can be filled with light!! Keep your eyes on Christ! I love this gospel! I love these scriptures! I am here because I cannot and will not deny the truthfulness of these scriptures. I have let mine eye be single and I am filled with the light of Christ and I hold no other purpose in my soul than to spread
that light to these people and everyone I meet. I will never be the same. Tell me this is not true!!!! I love my Savior!! Have the best week everyone! Ai shiteimasu!
Love, 
Elder Trevor Aiken

Turn to Him!

     Hey everyone! This week was very hard but also great. When we fall to the greatest depths in our lives we rise higher and closer to our Heavenly Father than we ever have.  That's because no one can fall lower than Christ did when He suffered for all of our pains, afflictions and our sins. If we turn towards our Savior and keep our eyes on him WE CANNOT 

FAIL! I testify of these things. I saw this come true this week. 

     I had a difficult time this week because the communication barrier is so huge with my Japanese companion. It was like we did everything he felt was right because he could not understand what I was saying when I brought forward ideas so I gave up.  We talked about it and finally resolved it after he kind of understood but I was still frustrated why this was so hard on me. I just prayed to the Lord so sincerely to help me have a positive attitude because I did not know why this was happening and what to do. I have rarely received such clarity in a time of struggle than this. I just realized that the Lord was just trying to humble me so that I would turn unto Him with all of my heart. I realized that He is the Gardner here and I am being cut down to grow and be molded into what He wants me to be. I took a minute to look at the big picture. I had realized that in these past few weeks that as it felt that the communication barrier was getting bigger and bigger with my companion, that as I was humbled, my communication barrier with the Lord was becoming completely transparent.  That is not to say that I don't work every day to understand and recognize the spirit and promptings, but I realized that the Lord was with me every second on those days. But I had to be humbled and turn to Him. If any of you struggle with a relationship and feel their is a communication barrier, look and see, if you humbled yourself, and look to see how you have come closer to the Lord. Your communication may have come much closer than it ever has. Just listen and He may have the answer for you of how to help that relationship.

     In a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott called 'How to Receive Revelation and Inspiration for Personal Life', he says this about humility: "For spirituality to grow stronger and more available, it must be planted in a righteous environment. Haughtiness, pride, and conceit are like stony ground that will never produce spiritual fruit. Humility is a fertile soil where spirituality grows and produces the fruit of inspiration to know what to do. It gives access to divine power to accomplish what must be done. An individual motivated by a desire for praise or recognition will not qualify to be taught by the Spirit. An individual who is arrogant or who lets his or her emotions influence decisions will not be powerfully led by the Spirit."

     I have truly realized that I need to humble myself one hundred percent in order to receive revelation and build an environment for me to grow. I also realized that it takes so much courage to do so. When we are around people we can say such powerful things and work hard, but what are we doing when no one is around, or even more so when we are alone in our prayers and our studies? Are we praying sincerely, are we reading with intent? What are we doing when no one is looking. What are the true intentions of our hearts? 
Philippians 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

     Being courageous is not doing what is right or what is brave when others are around. That is the bravery of the world. True bravery is doing what is right and what is hard when no one is looking. It is working like it all depends on us, but then praying like it all depends on Him. It is truly repenting and communicating with just you and the Lord. It is changing your heart. It is letting yourself to be broken down so he can rebuild you. That is true courage. It is God that knows our heart and our intentions and know us perfectly. Should we not think it wise to know him, so that we can truly know ourselves? I had to ask myself that question this week and I found my answer. God is our Father, Christ is the way, and we are His vessels. Come unto Him and you shall be endowed with the powers of Heaven to overcome all trials and tribulations as we turn unto God. Always keep your eyes on Christ and you shall never fall! This week I took my eyes away from his judgement and looked at the world and I fell. But IN THE SECOND, that I called for help, He raised me out of the water and was there right when I needed him. Just call to Him please!  Just like the father of the prodigal son he will never be angry. He is always looking for you to return from a long way off and he will accept you with open arms and with joy. Just turn. Just turn. I testify of our Father and of our Savior's love and power. I love them from the bottom of my heart. They guide me every day with everything I do. I love you all. And God loves you perfectly. Have an amazing week!!
Love,
Elder Trevor Aiken

Declaring the word!

     Hey everyone! I am doing so awesome!  We are the only area in my mission that is not allowed to go the temple every transfer which is really hard for me right now but I am loving every second.

     I had a powerful experience reading Alma 42 today. This is the last chapter of Alma conversing with his youngest son Corianton. He talks to him about how he needs to deny the justice of God no more and focus on his sins and repent and change. Now I went through the process so that is not what hit me in that chapter but this I what did. I cannot deny that this is God's work not mine. I am but a vessel and I am nothing and completely inadequate as a missionary without my Savior and Father in Heaven. But I do hold a lot of power.  If I go around being down or angry or I am disobedient or lazy, then I will not have the power of God with me, the spirit with me, or the gift of tongues. I will not be able to sanctify myself but more importantly these people. It is not my place to complain or waste this time in which God has called me to be his servant.  It is his time not mine. I accepted this call so God expects me to work. But I also believe that if I am lazy and give up, God could easily find someone else. Some people might be lost because of my selfishness but God's work will always continue and spread throughout the world. But I will miss on an opportunity to sanctify myself, convert unto my Savior Jesus Christ and take upon myself the character of Christ. Moreover, I will miss the chance to help these people receive a chance to be saved. I could not imagine entering God's kingdom and having people walk up to me and saying, "Elder Aiken, why did you not live obediently, walk uprightly before the Lord, and perform your work by the guidance of the spirit and give me a chance to receive the gospel by sharing it with me?"  I have been preparing for this mission long before I entered this life and I will remember it long after I leave it. So how will I leave it? I want to leave it by giving it my all and no longer denying the justice of God but accepting it in my life as a missionary and choosing to serve him and these people every day.      After reading that second to last verse in Alma, I was so zoned in to the chapter that I had not even realized that the last verse was my mission scripture:  Verse 31: And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people. And now, my son, go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them. And may God grant unto you even according to my words. Amen.



     I will go and declare this word that they may receive this plan of mercy and this plan of relief. I will keep my eyes on Christ and I will approach the horizon. I will no longer deny the justice of God, but instead of denying the truth I will not only acknowledge it but I will change to walk in line with it.  Will you do work to do the same? Please walk the path to Heavenly Father with Christ with faith in ever footstep. 
     We had a cool this past week, an experience where we prayed to find an investigator.  After tracting for about an hour we went to our apartment and we both agreed that we
should actually go to the church to get some things done.  On our way, we ran into a young man and my companion rushed to speak to him.  When I got there, he saw I spoke English and was so excited.  He asked if I could teach him English since he needed help with some English homework.  I was very happy to help him, and after we talked for a while we gave him a Book of Mormon.  I'm hoping to help him again with the language and with teaching him about the gospel!
     I know this Church is true!  I'm so happy to be on a mission and I love the Japanese people!  Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Trevor Aiken