The Last Testamony

April 20, 2019 

Friends and Family,

After countless letters sent out, I write today a very short and sincere thank you to all of those who have supported me throughout my mission. I thank those who have been there for me throughout as well following up with me. In a short 10 days I will be returning home and with my return i would like to leave with you all a few short truths that i have come to know throughout my mission.

I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is our savior and redeemer. That by and through his attonement all mankind may be saved if they obery the laws, principles, and ordinances of the gospel.

I know that he calls prophets, seers, and revelators to help teach and govern his church here on the earth, by which we may learn his will, and that if we follow them, we will be blessed spiritually, temporally, and in all things.

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, another testament of the Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and know that all may come to know of a truthfulness of it if they pray with sincerity.

I am grateful and know that all of the doctrines, principles, and laws of the Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's kingdom here on the earth in preparation for his second coming.

I invite all to seek the Lord and his promises that he has made to each of us. I am grateful for the knowledge of these things and for my mission that i have had to share these and other truths with countless people.

I'll see you all soon. I am excited to share all these truths as well with each of those that i cross paths with again in the coming months and years in my paths of life. I love you all. Until then,

-Elder Matthew Arscott

He is Risen!

Dear Family and Friends,

My short thought today is based on a thought shared from my mission President, President Cuvelier and is accredited to him. He shared the following message with us today in preparation for the upcoming Easter Sunday.

As stated by President Cuvelier: "No citation in the history of mankind is more meaningful, powerful, wonderful, or miraculous: "He is risen!" That would never have happened. It was not possible!

But the impossible became a reality when the two Marys went to the garden of the tomb, where there was burried only one person.

“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them…And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre…And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus…. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?... He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” (Luke 24: 1-5 & Matthew 28:6)

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle in the history of mankind. The Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ affect every person who has ever lived, lives, and will live on Earth. Jesus Christ overcame alone the effects of spiritual and physical death when he arose from the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea in the third day after he died on the cross of Calvary. He fulfilled the law of justice and saved the whole world! Nothing is more universal than the resurrection. Every living being will be resurrected, thanks to Him.

“Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous;… As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (Alma 11:44 & 1 Corinthians 15:22)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a glorious reality. He really rose again, just as He and His Holy  prophets predicted. He became "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Thanks to Him, we too will overcome physical death. Our spirits will be reunited with immortal bodies.

Everything that happened in your life, what happens, and what will happen is possible because of Him, when He overcame the world and overcame death.

He lives!

The Prophet Joseph Smith testified in Doctrine & Covenants: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!”

Four years later, Joseph Smith wrote in D&C 110: We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.

As we learned in our last zone conference, over the course of a week, Jesus rewrote the history of mankind. While it is important to remember the events that took place and your symbolism, it is more important to apply His Atonement in our lives. Thanks to Him, we can write and rewrite our own history. We have the privilege of inviting others do the same. At this Passover, we will apply all that He has taught and provided for lasting changes in our lives and in the lives of the people we teach. As disciples of Christ, we add our testimony to that of the Marys, Joseph Smith, and others witnesses of the past and present - that He lives and is our Savior and Redeemer! Through His sacrifice, all mankind will receive immortality. In repentance, every person can receive the ordinances of the gospel. By keeping the commandments, every person can receive eternal life. I pray that each one of us may remember to thank God for the blessing of the Atonement and for the miracle of the Resurrection by feeding His sheep and inviting everyone to follow His example. For the impossible became possible thanks to Him when the angel declared:

"He is not here, for He is Risen!”

My testimony to you all that he lives, I leave with you, and with my love, until next.

-Elder Matthew Arscott

Our Highest Priorities

Family and Friends,

There is a feeling of realignment after spiritual experiences that we have that helps us to reflect upon what we, as the young rich ruler, "..lack yet". I am grateful for these opportunities as it keeps me in a balance and check spiritually in my life. General Conference this past weekend was one of those expereinces. Here ar my thoughts that I had in regards to what I may take away from this spiritual bombarding and how we may apply it in our lives.

Life is driven by our daily choices. President Brigham Young said that: “Our lives are made up of little, simple circumstances that amount to a great deal when they are brought together, and sum up the whole life of the man or woman.” This past weekend God's prophets instructed us which things we should choose when speaking of these daily decisions. Sister Sharon Eubank said "Ask Heavenly Father what you can let go of". This principle spiritually and temporarly speaking, is called Prioritizing. President Nelson mentioned some things that we should put as our highest priorities when speaking about what He put as his when talking to his late daughter Wendy. Some of those include Covenants, Obedience, Ordinances, Faith, Family, Fidelity, Love, and Eternal Life. We then too may (and should) ask ourselves on occasion, "Are my daily thoughts, desires, and actions centered and focused on these things? If not, what can I let go of? What can I pick up? What lack I yet?"

For those familiar with Hurricane High School football, you may remember that when breaking the huddle, the team in unison chants: "Let's WIN". Our coaches explained that in focusing on that certain planned gameplay, this acronym represents "What's Important Now". How many times do we, when breaking our daily huddles of Prayer, Study, Work, and Recreational time ask "What is Important Now?" The method has been made simple and clear to us. Everything that we must do daily should be focused in aumenting our Faith in Jesus Christ and Repenting, being worthy of making covenants through ordinances with our family, a heart set on fidelity and love, so that we may have eternal life. These must be Our Highest Priorities.

We too may be realigned and "act in the office in which (we are) appointed, in all diligence" (D&C 107:99) We must act. As the apostle James wrote: "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22) and as Francis Quarel states: "Today only is thine. If thou procrastinate, thou loseth. Which lost, is lost forever."

My prayer is that we may not procrastinate in doing and remembering what our highest priorities are, but act upon the words of the Prophets, seers, and revelators given this conference, doing so now, for as stated by President Nelson: "Time is running out"

With all my Love for each of you,

-Elder Matthew Arscott

The Simplicity of the Method, the simpleness of the way.

3.11.2019

Family and Friends,

Sorry that it has been a few weeks since you have heard from me, things here are soaring. We have been blessed these last few weeks with fruits and success. As i approach a vital part of my mission, I seek to take advantage of the spirituality of the mission and finish making progress that will have an impact on my life. I was just not being able to achieve all of my goals that i was seeking after, and i sought change. Preisdent Oliveira, President of the Brazil Curitiba Temple, gave me some insight on what i was missing. I hope that i may bring about the secret to great changes in my email to you all today. 

In seeking for changes as well, the Prophet Joseph Smith recieved this revelation: "Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33) Alma spoke in a similar manner when he said: "..behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass;...and by very small means the Lord doth confound thwise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." (Alma 37:6-7, edited) In searching to move mountains, i forgot in the little steps. In applying these principles taught by Prophets, i have adquired a testimony of what we need to do to have changes in our lives. President Dallin H. Oaks cites these same principles in his talk from last April, 2018, in General Conference. He said: "We are taught many small and simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to be reminded that in total and over a significant period of time, these seemingly small things bring to pass great things." "After reciting a seemingly small event that had great consequences, Nephi wrote, “And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things” (1 Nephi 16:29). The Old Testament includes a memorable example of this. There we read how the Israelites were plagued by fiery serpents. Many people died from their bites (see Numbers 21:6). When Moses prayed for relief, he was inspired to make “a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole.” Then, “if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (verse 9). Such a small thing for such a miraculous result! Yet, as Nephi explained when he taught this example to those who were rebelling against the Lord, even when the Lord had prepared a simple way by which they could be healed, “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished” (1 Nephi 17:41)."

My testimony today is that when we do the small and simple things, such as pray daily, fast often, study daily, and partake of the sacrament weekly, we too may be worthy of the changes that our Father in Heaven has in store for us. And what great changes does he have in store, for you and for me.

-Elder Matthew Arscott

Photos:

1. Antony's Baptism 

2. Julio Cesar's Baptism 

3. Red, White, and Blue

4. Zone Conference - Jardim do Sol

5. Snakes

6. Family Night with Rafael, Danielle, and Raquel

7. Family Home Evening with Valdir and his family

8. Leadership Conference

9. Gray Suits

Another Entry from Mom

3.4.19
     Matthew's line today said " Mom, I'm online but I don't have much time. This past week has been busy and was quite a success. I have about 15 minutes so I am spending it sending pictures instead of stories. "
     Well, that's it. Now you know what I know for the week. LOL.
He did say that he knows he didn't get enough sleep for which I did respond with 'well, take your vitamins'. (Quoting Pres. Nelson)
     True to his word, he sent pictures. But not one explanation on any of them. I do believe that the last few must have been taken on his birthday, and thus the cake.... I do appreciate members looking out for our Missionaries.

Entry from Mom- To make and Keep a record....

2.18.19

This past week has been filled with excitement  and anticipation. The announcement came through the missionary department from the First Presidency that our missionaries weekly communication can now include WEEKLY phone calls. This information was very well received. I looked forward to previous phone calls coming in at Christmas and Mothers Day. This change is amazing. Even if Matthew only has  71 days left, I welcome this change.

I wrote Matthew on Sunday evening as I normally do. I didn't know what he had planned for his p-day plans. I couldn't sleep Sunday night and was awake until 2 a.m. THEN, I couldn't sleep and woke up at 7 a.m., This is very unusual for me. Last week, Matthew's email came through at 3:30 a.m., as he was up early getting through his plans for the day. I didn't want to miss his response so I could know what his plans were for today's communication. I had been waiting for one hour when I received an email from him. He informed me that they were able to use 'google hangout' now and that I needed a g-mail email address. I had one and sent this to him and then proceeded to sign up for 'hangout". We were able to connect with our emails. Then he told me that they were going to lunch and he would contact me when they got back. They were also moving from the lan house where they were to the Church house. Long story shortened, once he finally got back from lunch ( 90 minutes later) it took him about two more hours to get the microphone to work on the computers. He couldn't get video abilities but he did get audio. It was very poor audio and we had to listen very careful to hear him.

BUT, it was WONDERFUL to hear his voice again. In the past, I have said that if I could talk with him once a month, that I would be happy. I never thought this change would come.

We did decide, together, that he will not be calling every week. He doesn't have that much time left of his mission. We also decided together, that we would limit our phone calls to 15 minutes. At Christmas, we had 60 minutes. We both agreed that he had work to do and if he needed more frequent calls, then so it be.

I also wanted to post that Matthew and his companion sang Happy Birthday to Adam. His birthday is this coming Saturday and he will turn 19. Matthew's birthday is next week, March 2nd.

When we were finished, my body was exhausted. The anticipation of hearing his voice and my lack of sleep took a toll on me. I just crashed. I had to lay back down and I fell asleep almost instantly. I think that I needed to pinch myself that I was not dreaming and that I really did talk with him.

I did tell him that I still wanted his email/group letters and pictures, as I have put together binders with them all in them. I am on binder #3 right now. I wanted to finish out this for his mission. This has been a great project for me to do while he has been gone. I hope future missionaries make and keep a record of their missions that can be read and passed down to future generations. I hope that this tradition won't stop if phone calls take over emails. I hope a balance can be found between the two.

Matthew sent me pictures without any description. I told him he was going to have a lot of work to do when he gets home to write out the descriptions and names of those in the pictures.....
Enjoy these...….

I have to add this last picture. (For future laughs!!)  On FB, we moms were discussing rather we now get up, shower, clean up, put our make up on, etc BEFORE our missionary calls. The polls went back and forth with many, many, funny posts. ( like, 'Oh, I'm asking for a friend'. LOL) I decided that I wasn't going to do much because he wasn't going to have video. During the call, however, I found out that HE could see ME, but I just could NOT see him. I hope he and his companion had a good laugh of his old mom still in her bathrobe. 

Simple Keys to Great Success

Family and Friends,

These few weeks have filled me with humility and love for this great work. I miss all of my good friends so much and even more my family but am grateful for the knowledge of where I am at and what I am doing. I open my thought today inviting ALL to read and ponder on my words. They might just give you some answers to questions and doubts that you are looking for or needing, as they did for me. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith brought revelation from our Savior to us through his great calling as the Seer and Revelator to open the last dispensation. The Lord resotred to light many diminished Doctrines and Principles, one of which includes that of the Worth of Souls. From Doctrine and Covenants Section 18 we read:

The Title Line:

Verse 10: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;"

The Responsibility:

13 and 14: "And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people."

The Promise:

15-18: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me! Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my salvation. Ask the Father in my name in faith, believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men."

The Keys to Great Success:

Verse 19: "And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing."

Or may we say that, by Faith, Hope, and Charity, we may do all things.

Our Joy will be great when we have Faith, Hope, and Charity. THis is not just a Modern day revelation but Principles taught since the begining of time by Prophets of old! To name just a few:

Paul: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Alma: "And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works." (Alma 7:24)

Mormon: "And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the synagogue which they had built for the place of worship." (Moroni 7:1)

Moroni: "Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness." "Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith there must also be hope; and if there must be hope there must also be charity. And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope."

It is these Christlike attributes that qualify us for the great work of the Gathering of Israel, The Restoration of the Gospel, and the Saving of Souls. "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work" (D&C 4:5)

This "Work" is the greatest of all work! Our Father in Heaven stated: "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

So when we are Downtrodden, Depressed, Troubled, Worried, Anxious, Fearful, Suffering Beaten, Confused, Lost, Sad, or Sorrowful; I implore you to listen to the words of the Lord Jehovah: "...Lift up your heads and Rejoice" (D&C 110:5) Christ lives and he has given us a means to escape all such sorrow and opposition and eventually return to an exalted state, by and through our works of Faith, Hope, and Charity. For this reason we should share this same message to all, and again i say: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

That our joy may be great through our abundant good works of Faith, Hope and Charity, is my prayer this week and always.

With Love,

-Elder Matthew Arscott