Grant Goes on a Mission: BUILDING ACTUAL HOUSES

INTERCAMBIOS WITH ELDER AGYIN

Mis queridos Hermanos,

Today I want to talk about something very dear to most Mormons: our "standards"...

We live by standards defined by God. Standards are what the 10 commandments are, and they help us from harming others and to better ourselves.

But you don't need to be Mormon to choose not to smoke or swear. So to me, it's really interesting to see why people choose not to do things. Maybe they've seen rough things in their past that have made them choose not to drink. Maybe they just don't want to drink because they don't like the taste. But the reason why someone doesn't want to do something DOESN'T MATTER. If someone doesn't want to swear, respect that! and try not to swear around them! If someone wants to swear, that's fine too! and try not to let it bother you, and if it does, just go somewhere else.

I live by something that I call standards, or rules. I have made rules for myself to keep myself the way I want to be. I have made rules not to do certain things, and by not doing these things, I feel personal strength. I feel more in control. And you can too!

But more than anything ... I keep the standards we have been given by prophets because I know they help us love more. Every rule I have set for myself has helped me love more, and I can PROMISE you that the rules set by prophets will help you love more. Sometimes we don't understand how personal rules can help us love, but that's why we need to experiment.

Standards help me love by helping me know that I stand for something different. I stand for peace, and not for war. I stand for family love, and not gang murder (which is alive and well in all of the world, including Argentina).

But it's important in our age to remember that no means no. If I don't want to drink, I'm not going to. And I'm going to do everything in my power to keep myself from doing so.

What helps me keep rules and standards is by deciding now.

"Jesus the Christ, who knew perfectly how to give, set for us the pattern for giving."

"To those whose hearts are heavy with loneliness and sorrow, He brings compassion and comfort.
To those whose bodies and minds are afflicted with illness and suffering, He brings love and healing.
To those whose souls are burdened with sin, He offers hope, forgiveness, and redemption.
If the Savior were among us today, we would find Him where He always was—ministering to the meek, the downcast, the humble, the distressed, and the poor in spirit." - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

I have learned a special secret about how to love everyone. We must look at them and see their potential. This is how Christ looks at us. This is how He saw his apostles, and this is how He saw sinners. He saw their grand potential.

I know it starts at standards.

LOVE,

ELDER AMANN

HERE'S WHAT WE DO WITH BOMBS