I said goodbye to my friend Elder Christensen |
The MTC is the greatest place in Utah because it represents something HUGE.
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The MTC IS a school. But it is the greatest school. I mean this. I am going to explain by relating the MTC to traditional school.
The MTC is a center that teaches its students the language of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the purpose of bettering the world.
The
students going to the MTC are not there to gain great jobs. They are
not there to gain any money. They are there because they want to better
the world, and follow Jesus.
The MTC is a
short term training center that BELIEVES IN THE FUTURE. They take any
student and believe they will be great. The goal is not to weed out the
weak, but to uplift all. And the goal is to get them out in the world
as quickly as possible, instead of semesters of textbook training, they believe in the reality of training experience,
after missionaries leave.
All students who come to the
MTC are equally great, though they are made better by their choices...
which is what a school should do.
Using a quote from Saturday's General Conference Session;
President Uchtdorf stated that ,"blessings are based more on choices than on ability."
This
is a HUGE truth. And the thing about traditional school, is that a lot
of times, success is based on ABILITY. I have seen kids roll out of
bed late, without breakfast, WITHOUT STUDYING, ace tests, scholarly
exams, etc. while other kids, who make choices to study, and study hard, still score less, or achieve less "success."
But
by changing the end goal, the MTC makes all its students better than
who they were. It does not divide students, but it brings them
together. I have felt a stronger sense of unity and almighty force there, then I have ever felt. I have felt more hope for our future, for my generation, then I have ever felt before just by walking its halls.
The
MTC is the greatest school because it is removed from this world. Its
purpose does not have anything to do with this world. It only has to do
with greater, higher things. It's on another level than any college.
I leave you with a quote from C.S. Lewis.
It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. . . . There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. . . . It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.
I love the MTC and it is God´s training institution.
Sophie, I am so happy for you.
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH,
ELDER AMANN
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