Monday, July 14, 2014

Signing off....61 Things I have learned.

Family and friends,
 
I can't believe that it's already here. I have never experienced so many mixed emotions than I have recently. These past 2 years have been the best for my life up to this point and I will never forget the eternal significant lessons that I have learned out here. Over the past 2 years in my journal I have compiled things I have learned while out here. I know that there is a lot and I don't believe most of you will read them all, but if I could sum anything up, read #61 please. See you in a couple of days. :)
 
1.                  God is a “one by one” God.
This one is self explanatory, I have learned for myself that God knows us individually and intimately. The way he governs is one by one.
2.                  God is a “day by day” God.
I have experienced this so much out here. I have had days where I thought I couldn't continue I was so tired, but I felt strengthened and peaceful day by day as I kept moving forward. He really is there day by day.
3.                  We can “saber” God or “conocer” God.
This inspiration came in Stillwater during a study. Saber is the Spanish verb "to know factual things". Conocer is also the Spanish verb to know "or be intimately acquainted with." Before the mission, I intellectually knew of God, but I now can say that I conocer Him.
4.                  The promptings of the Holy Ghost will help us accomplish things over and beyond our own abilities.
Mom and dad, you might recognize this one. This has been a huge learning lesson out here. I could tell you story after story, miracle after miracle abut how many cool things have come from one single prompting. Without the Spirit in my life, I could not do what God wanted me to.
5.                  To worship is to emulate. (We worship the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Holy Ghost.)
This one was really important to me. I have come to realize that we worship our Father in the name of Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost. There is God the Creator, God the redeemer and God the testator. We worship the father and as we receive Christ, "we receive His Father".
6.                  “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”
Got this quote from a missionary out here. It's from Jefferey R. Holland. I know it's true. I have been pushed to my limits over and over again and just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, God gave me an opportunity to become more like Him.
7.                  Honesty comes from humility.
I was sitting in Braums one day in Stillwater and a man came up to bash with me. I refused and so we had a good talk on pride and humility. Together, we came to this conclusion. Think about it. We are only dishonest because we care to much about what we look like to others so we hide and lie and cheat. The humble are always the most honest.
8.                  The Holy Ghost isn’t mormon.
This one's a classic. So many ignorant people always came up to me and said "Elder Cutler, our investigators felt the spirit in their church, what should we tell them?!" or "I feel the spirit in my church, therefore, your church can't be true"....Wrong.  The Spirit's role is to bear testimony of truth and wherever truth is, there will you find the Spirit.
9.                  Sometimes “enduring to the end” simply means enduring to the end of today.
I kind of alluded to this above, but boy do I believe it. Take it one day at a time and if that's too much, take it one hour at a time. :)
10.              Christ is the foundation, not the Bible.
Do NOT get me started on this one. The Bible Belt has solidified my testimony of this point. So many people out here put their faith in the Bible and yet they don't understand Christ. "Well where does it say that in the Bible?" or "If it aint in the Bible, it is not from Christ". WRONG. If we could only understand the nature of God and Christ, we would recognize that they speak, not spake. Christ must be our foundation, not written scripture(written scripture is there to help us understand Christ.) Revelation is the key.
11.              Setting a goal without a plan is wishful thinking.
I believe in this. The secret to all success is goal setting and making plans. If you want baptisms, set a goal and make a plan.
12.              When the dog becomes the problem, pray.
HAHA!! I hope some of you get this one :) Hint: Ed. 3rd
13.              More important than talking is listening.
There is so much more accomplished through listening. Never once did I need a sermon to fix my problems, but I did need someone that would listen and sympathize.
14.              Faith is not hopeful clinging, it is assurance.
To all the atheists: Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge, but it is to have a certain kind of knowledge. Paul puts it well, "Faith is the ASSURANCE of things hoped for the EVIDENCE of things not seen." We don't cling desperately to the idea of a God out of wishful thinking. We believe because we have experienced and collected evidences.
15.              “To live with gratitude in our hearts is to touch heaven”
This is a quote from President Monson. I had a rough time in Shawnee and I wondered why I was so upset, but then the Spirit whispered to me that I needed to be more grateful. I felt at peace.
16.              We may act, or be acted upon.
There are so many people that choose to let their circumstances act upon them. I have learned through experience that we can overcome our circumstances through faith. That is the whole purpose of mortality, to overcome. We are powerful beyond measure to act, and not be acted upon.
17.              Obedience to law is liberty.
Classic "missionaryism". Who would have ever thought that laws make you free? ;) What makes this country free...the constitution. If I were to sit down at the piano and try and play Beethoven right now, I would not be "liberated" to do so because my abilities restrict my liberty to do so. But if I were to follow the laws and theories of piano, eventually I would be free to play Beethoven whenever I wanted. Obedience to law is liberty.
18.              There is no such thing as ‘falling in love’.
Like I said, we have a choice. I was so dumb always saying "mom, I just fell in love with her". Sikeeeee!! We choose to love!! Love is a choice!! :)
19.              The principle on which the government of heaven is conducted is “revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the Children of God are placed”.
This is my favorite quote in preach my gospel. I would be willing to bet that over 95% of the Christian population does not understand this principle.
20.              We don’t know God because we don’t know His children.
I love this!! The closer I allow myself to get to His Children, the closer I get to Him. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me"
21.              It is possible to be joyful in unhappy times.
Joy is long term, happiness is short term. I have been unhappy in some hours of the day, but in the grand scheme of things, I can still be "swallowed up in the 'joy of the Son'.
22.              God speaks “line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little there a little”
It takes patience to understand God's will because as we are writing our "books of life",  he only gives us the next line to work with.
23.              Christ knows how we feel, even when we have food poisoning.
While I was in Edmond 3rd at the beginning of my mission I got food poisoning. I remember one night puking 15 times. The next morning I was still puking. As I leaned over the toilet, I thought to myself, "Did He really feel this?" and an overwhelming spiritual hug took over my whole body. He really did feel what we feel.
24.              “A bell isn’t a bell until its rung; a song isn’t a song until it’s sung; the love in your heart wasn’t meant to stay; love isn’t love until you give it away.”
Enough said. Quote by Pres. Monson.
25.              Sometimes, no answer at all is your answer.
I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I have not received and answer, but in those times I recognize that, that is my answer. Sometimes He listens, and sometimes, He leaves it up to us. :)
26.              Atonement: It’s not a noun, it’s a process.
This is the story of my mission. This is the story of my life. To be at one with Christ and God is to be happy. Atonement is an ongoing recurring process until one day we will sit down with them in the Celestial Kingdom and we will be "pure, even as they are pure".
27.              A testimony is knowing something is true, conversion is consistently being true to what you know.
Classic Elder Bednar quote. This was me before my mission and my mission taught me how to be true to what I know. As I did that, I became acquainted with Them.
28.              Priesthood keys are real.
Holy Cow! I have gained a STRONG testimony that priesthood keys direct this work.
29.              Faith is believing that, behind each mortal experience there is an eternal significant lesson to be learned.
This came to me as I was writing in my journal one day. I believe it. There is something always to be learned.
30.              “When you cannot love someone, look into their eyes long enough to see the rudiments of the child of God in them”
This is a quote give to me by the Orgills. I love the wisdom it speaks. I have had to do this many times out here to people that really dislike us. Make eye contact! :)
31.              We are more susceptible to being taught while climbing a mountain because we are humble and willing to listen.
I learned this in a testimony meeting in Stillwater. We always hear about prophets climbing to the top of the mountain to be taught. I always wondered why, but now I know. :)
32.              You can never slice a piece of cheese so thin that there won’t be two sides.
I have learned for myself that I am not always right. :) I have loved learning to council out here. The Spirit edifies all when we do.
33.              Covenants intensify faith.
I went through a covenant spurt during studies awhile back and learned this. Promises from God allow us to be sure that things will come to pass. There is a "light at the end of the tunnel"
34.              Repentance is turning away from the past and walking forward into the future towards Jesus Christ.
I went through a DIFFICULT time in Shawnee because of some things from the past. I fasted one day and I got my answer that sunday after church. It all clicked with me then.
35.              Everyone goes through refining processes, but not everyone will be refined in the process.
Like I said, we can act or be acted upon. :) Through opposition we are given opportunities to be refined and more like our Father in Heaven.
36.              “We cannot earn exaltation, but we can indicate through our faith and behavior that we desire it more than anything else.”
"You Mormons think that you can earn your way into heaven"....I've heard it over and over and over. (Sheri Dew)
37.              Sometimes the solution is “tickle fight”.
We have had situations where tickle fights are the only things that work. :) Funny stories.
38.              “Sometimes God withholds His answers so He can create a pocket in our hearts big enough to place the answer in it.”
Mom, you sent me this quote and it perfectly explains what I went through the past couple of months with BYU.
39.              Soccer does not define who I am and what I can be.
I thought I could be confident because of my abilities to play soccer before I left. Now, it doesn't matter to me.
40.              Addictions are evil.
I have seen families and people destroyed because of addictions. They are horrible. They are scary. They are
41.              I was “born of goodly parents”…and they were right.
So many times out here I have found myself saying "Wow, I sound like my mom". They were right about everything.
42.              The devil is real.
I have had experiences with ministering to people with evil spirits and casting things out. The devil is real.
43.              “Teach people correct principles and let them govern themselves.”
Story of my mission. Great quote from Joseph Smith.
44.              There is absolute truth.
I am SO SICK of hearing, "well, you believe what you believe and I believe what I believe, we'll all be okay in the end"....We should care a little more about what is true and what is not. There is no salvation in believing something that is not true.
45.              You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force him to drink.
We did a training on this one time. It's kind of the same thing as the quote from Joseph Smith, but its got the OKIE twang in it :)
46.              ‘Remember’: Keep a journal.
This has been grilled into me by the Spirit. I love going back and reading past journal entries. It helps us "remember" which is a covenant we make each week.
47.              Take the lid off and jump.
If you put a flea in a jar without a lid, it will jump out. If you put the lid on, it will only jump just barely below the lid. When you take it back off, it cannot jump any higher. When that flea has posterity, those fleas are genetically trained to only jump as high as the lid would have let them. But if you put a brand new flea in the jar, all of them will be trained to jump out again. So it is with missionaries and their respective areas.
48.              Being a witness is much more than belief, it is experience.
I have learned that through all my trials and opposition, God has taught me how to be His witness. This is the way we gain evidence and knowledge about Him.
49.              Sacrifice is only an eternal investment.
Before my mission, I thought I was making a sacrifice. Ha.
50.              To sin is to “miss the mark”
Greek word for Sin=hamartia, which means to miss the mark as in shooting arrows at a target. Anything that is taking away from our purpose to inherit eternal life is sin.
60.  "Get on your knees and pray, and then get on your feet and get to work"
Love this quote from president Hinkcley. I believe that diligence coupled with prayer will solve everything after being out here.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST....
61.  Grace doesn't make up the difference, it is the difference.
I wanted to end on this one for a reason. I was sitting in church on sunday wondering if I had accomplished what I wanted to accomplish during my two years. Thoughts like this ran through my head...."Did I work hard enough?" "Did I put it all on the line?" "Did I accomplish everything that I was supposed to?". I then realized that I did not work hard enough. I did not put it all on the line. I did not accomplish everything I was supposed to. There was always one more person to talk to that I may have missed. There was always one more person waiting to hear about the Book of Mormon or Bible. There was always a little more I could've given. I could've said this a little better. I could have smiled one more time. I could have done this and this and this..... THEN I realized this. God doesn't care about what I have done. He only cares about who we have become as a result of what we have done. I then remembered the word ATONEMENT. Have I become more "AT-ONE"  with Christ and my Heavenly Father? Has my heart been changed? I answered with a resounding yes. I have felt to sing the song of redeeming love. I have been redeemed. My past is behind me and my future is right now. I now can say with confidence that I know the Master better than I did yesterday not because I have seen Him, but because I have become more like Him. I have learned for myself that His grace is not needed only to make up for what we lacked. His grace is the reason I did what I did yesterday, and it is the reason I am who I am today. His grace changed my heart through faith and repentance on His name. I can conclude that  in the process of leading others to Christ, I have been led to Him. I am His witness in a new and better way than I was yesterday. He is MYbrother and He is MY Savior.







Monday, July 7, 2014

July 4th Weekend.

July 4th was one of the most fun days of my mission. It is still taking me awhile to recover from it all, but it was so worth it. 

Last thursday I did an exchange with Elder Hoddy (from orem) and we were invited by a family to go to a firework show at their "mega" church. The pastor saw us walking in with them and came over and made sure we weren't there to cause trouble, it was so funny. We had permission from President to stay out pretty late with this family and be with them at their church watching fireworks. We got home and in bed by around 11:30-12am and woke up the next day and went on a 3 mile run (we did that in 20 minutes which is pretty solid for a couple of fat missionaries). I was pretty tired. 

Our mission put together a booth at a HUGE July 4th event in Moore, Oklahoma. We were in charge of parking and manning the booth and oym'ing everyone we saw (oym=open your mouth/ street contacting) I don't think I have ever talked to so many people at once in one setting then I did throughout that day. It was hilarious. Once the sun went down, they had the craziest fireworks show I have ever seen. Oklahoma goes hard. It was nuts. So that night we were out pretty late doing the booth and watching the firework show. We got back around 12am and woke up the next day at 5am to go play basketball at the church. It was a long weekend needless to say. We had a lot of great things happen.

So this will be the last full week as a full time missionary. I don't have a lot of time today because we have to prepare for a Zone Training tomorrow and prepare for a bunch of stuff coming up this week. We will have another baptism this weekend for Jacob Mendoza. He is getting baptized in Arizona by his grandpa, but we have been teaching him for awhile now. He has a great family.

Another lady that we are teaching came up to us yesterday and said this. "Elders, remember that question you asked me about yesterday?" We said, "which one"…. She said "The one about baptism….well I was praying last night about it, and I have never felt such a great feeling before after praying. I want to get baptized." It was a cool miracle. :) We also found a lady through a referral. We have been taking out this kid in the ward who is 18 years old and he referred us. His name is Teran. He's one of our good friends out here. This lady has been reading the Book of Mormon and has watched "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" 4 times before meeting us. She wants to join as well, she knows its true. All in all, the Spirit is powerful. People don't need to know everything about the Book of Mormon or our Church to know its true. They just need an answer from God through the Spirit. :) That's all it takes. 

We just need to get to know Him!! That's what it all boils down to!!

I love you all and am excited to see y'all in a week. #gag

Much love.


Elder Dallin Cutler

4th of July Swag. #YanniNation


I'm not telling you how many missionaries are in our truck….:) july4th at 11:30pm #apostasy #notCool.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Pictures for the last stretch

So anyways, this will be a short email but as you can see from the pictures, we're having a great time out here. The work of salvation is hastening and it is the most rewarding cause I have ever been apart of. Even when it sometimes gets hard to stay focused because I am leaving so soon, the Lord ALWAYS gives me the extra strength I need to keep pushing harder.
 
It has been easy for God to teach me new things during this time because of how mentally, spiritually and emotionally drained I feel. In other words, I am completely "broken" after each day because of how demanding the work is. I have learned great lessons about the nature of God. I have learned for myself recently that God is not just an "eternal perspective God" where someday in the future we will reach Him and go home and feel His love. He is a"day by day" God. He has been my God "day by day" throughout my mission. Day by day I have felt His love and His strength. I can feel at home with Him or AT-ONE with Him day by day.
 
I remember first coming out and looking ahead to the future, two years in advance, and feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. Sometimes we feel that way in our daily lives because of how far away eternal life or perfection seems. We look ahead towards our goals and begin to realize how inadequate we are today and how weak and small we may feel today. We may feel that only when we reach "our goal" can we find peace, strength, hope and 'rest'. I have learned for myself that is not completely true. We can have peace, hope and rest today. He will give us the strength we need to endure day by day. Most of the time "enduring to the end" can seem so overbearing and overwhelming because of how much further we have to go. Sometimes enduring to the end is simply being able to endure well to the end of each day. We can take it one day at a time and God will help us one day at a time until eventually, someday (as in the case of my mission) we look up and realize that we have 3 weeks left of "our missions" and that He has shaped us to become someone we never thought we could become. I am a living witness that God is with us each day of our "missions". He is there to let us feel His love today. We can feel His peace and rest today. We can find the strength we need through the Atonement to endure to the end of today. He is a personal Savior and He has been and will continue to be my personal Savior.
 
I hope you all are happy because there is so much to be grateful for. Go out and do good today!
 
Much love.
 
Elder Dallin Cutler

These are my crazy companeros. Freakin love these dudes.


this is our ward mission leader. he was baptized 4 years ago. he's a baller. love him.


"planning prayers"


one more of the baptism.


this is the baptism we had for lizzi this past Saturday. Super spiritual baptism.

Monday, June 23, 2014

I am so grateful.


This past week was nuts. We double booked everyday with appointments and went on splits every single day to cover more ground. It was so dope. Time is flying by and its a bittersweet feeling.
 
We will be having a baptism this weekend for a girl named Lizzy. She is 20 years old and has the cutest one year old boy I have ever met in my life. We met her about a month ago and she has some amazing faith. It has been so fun to watch her countenance change over such a short period of time as she has prayed and read the Book of Mormon. It is such a cool experience to watch other people connect with God and receive revelation for their own life. God is so active in our lives on a day to day basis.  It will be such a sweet experience to watch her make this covenant with God this Saturday. I am so excited for her.
 
I don't have a lot of time but I want to share a quote that has become real in my life throughout the course of my mission.
"The condition of our soul limits the impact, not amount, of God's love in our lives."
I know this to be 100% true. As our soul becomes more refined through repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the love of God becomes a more active force to impact and influence our lives. It is always there, but it is activated as a more powerful influence through faith in Jesus Christ and repentance through His Atonement. This has been happening in my life.
 
I have to go to a doctors appointment for my companion. Sorry it had to be short. Love you all.
 
Elder Dallin Cutler

Monday, June 16, 2014

He is personally acquainted with us, "one by one".

Being in a trio opens up so many possibilities. We are able to go on splits all the time. We are getting double the work done in the area right now with double the appointments. Each night this week we have double booked our appointments. Pretty soon we are going to be coordinating 3 way splits so that we can all go with a different members and cover three times the amount of work. I love this area. 

I have been reminded this week that God loves us personally and is very sensitive and aware of us. He answers every sincere prayer in His own time, but He is never late. It never ceases to amaze me that He is able to do this. He has children everywhere. Each one of His children is dealing with different circumstances, challenges and trials. We meet these children on a daily basis and as disciples of Christ, we have covenanted to be instruments in the Lord's hands. It can be stressful and demanding as we try to meet the needs of other people at the right time and in the right place with the right words. The fact of the matter is that the circumstances of God's children change on a regular basis and so do their needs and wants, including ours. We cannot meet the needs of God's children without God.

I realize that I am an imperfect human being with a limited capacity to serve, love, and understand other people. I just can't do it alone. God is the only One who knows His children perfectly. He knows what they need when they need it and how they need it.  He lets us know what they need and when they need it through the gentle impressions and thoughts that come to our minds as we listen to the Holy Ghost. This is my favorite quote out of Preach My Gospel. Joseph Smith said, "This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed”  It is so important to obey the promptings that are revealed to us by God through His Spirit. As we do we will be able to accomplish His purposes and meet the needs of His children at the right time. We will accomplish things over, above and beyond our own limited abilities and understanding.  

I want to share one of the many promptings I received this week because it's still fresh on my mind. Yesterday, all of our appointments fell through right before dinner so we had a feeling to go knock on the door of someone we met a week ago. We knocked and he wasn't there but a feeling came to my mind that we needed to stay in that area. I had noticed a home and a car on our way into the neighborhood about 100 yards away from where we were and had a "slight thought" to go walk down the hill and knock on the door. It was hot and I didn't necessarily want to, but I paid closer attention and we turned around and started walking towards the house. We got to the door and knocked. A young girl who had to be about 16 years old opened the door with tears in her eyes and mascara all over her face. She told us that right now was not a good time. We told her that we had a feeling to come offer and say a prayer with her and her family. Her eyes lit up and she told us that right before we came, she had just received really bad news about her grandpa. We were able to pray with her and her friend. A calm peace came over all of us as we prayed and I knew at that moment that God needed us at that time in that specific place saying that prayer. Only God could've known that one of His 16 year old daughters in Midwest City, Oklahoma was sitting in her home crying because of the bad news that she had just received. I probably will never know what happened after the prayer, but I do know that God was sensitive to her needs at that time. He sent comfort and peace to that 16 year old girl through revelation adapted to her circumstances. Many times we receive these promptings that push us out of our comfort zones and we brush them aside. When we choose not to act on the promptings we receive, we miss out on priceless opportunities to witness for ourselves the intimate love and concern that God has for His children. 

I love you all. Hope you know how much God really does care. If you don't feel like He cares about you, stop thinking about yourself and go answer someone else's prayer today. I promise if you do, you will witness His love.

Elder Dallin Cutler

Not sure if I sent this one before, but this is the wagers. Sister Wagner was baptized a couple months ago too




This is our apartment. The greatest recliner in the world :)




I don't know what this is because I can't see the thumbnail haha


This is what a normal day looks like in our planner


This is our weekly planning. Happens once a week.


This was a couple of months ago during a tornado warning. :)


Elder Santa Maria and I right before some service.


This is the Dalrymples!! Stephanie got baptized a couple months ago


This is out pet cat :)


From left to right. Elder Ott, Elder Carter, Elder Gardner, Me


Wake up for a morning' run. #hardCoreParkour