Hello everyone,
This week has been just like the last while. Boring and dull. But that’s ok.
I realized that I haven’t really given a great explanation of my new assignment, so here it is:
My zone is the Church History Library Services zone. We are responsible for helping the library’s staff with the different patrons that visit the library. We help staff the main desk in the lobby, along with a member of church security, and are the first people to interact with anyone who comes through the doors and into the lobby (i.e. staff, missionaries, researchers, and other patrons). We ask what we can do to help the people who come in, and then we take the next steps to assist them. Some people who come into the library have never been inside, and come in either because they have mistaken it for the Family History Library, or the Church History Museum, so we often redirect them to the proper building that they wanted to go to in the first place. For those people who want to know more about the library, which is usually the majority of our guests, we take them back and give them a “tour”. What the tour includes is a small description of the building (basic information on the vaults in the building, the purpose behind the vaults, and what people can do in the library), and then we show them different artifacts that are in 4 cases at the back end of the library’s open area. The cases houses different things pertaining to the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and other significant items to the church. We show them the different artifacts, and give a small explanation of each item.
We also help staff the reference desk in the main section of the library, with a library staff member. Here we (rarely) help people find books in our “open stacks” and reshelve books in the same stacks. The open stacks are just shelves that anyone can come in and read any book from. So the normal library part of the library. The other place we help staff is the reading room. This room is a room set aside for researchers from outside the library staff, who want to come in and read something, or look at an item that is in the “secure stacks”. This just means that the item is in one of the vaults in the building, and needs to be pulled from the stacks, and brought down to the reading room. There are a whole ton of rules about different things people can and can’t request, and things like that.
We do each one of these positions in an hour shift, and usually are assigned 2 different hour shifts throughout the day, in two different assignments.
The rest of our day is sitting in a cubicle helping index records for the library, to help make the catalog better.
On Saturdays we have youth groups come in (most of the time) and we give them a presentation on the translation of the Book of Mormon, and then show them the cases. I haven’t given the presentation, because I haven’t memorized the script, and I have been failing at my memorization skills lately, so I doubt I will be giving that presentation any time soon.
On Mondays we have a group come from the MTC, of missionaries from around the world, who are going all around the world. They are brought up because for most of these missionaries, they will most likely never be back in Utah again.
Honestly this zone is draining. I no longer have the same capacity to deal with people that I used to, so being at the greeter desk, giving tours, and helping the library staff is very taxing to me. I am tired all the time. And sitting in the back offices indexing drains the rest of my mental capacities, and my focus. The youth groups drain me for the same reason that the normal tours do, but the MTC groups are the worst. It’s been really hard to see these new missionaries from all over the world come to listen to me for like 10 minutes, and hear where they are going. I have met missionaries going all over the world. Tonga, Chile, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, and so many other places. It’s like a slap in the face, or salt in the wound, because I am asked by every single group where I am from and how long I have been out. The faces of those missionaries when they find out I am from Salt Lake pains me.
But oh well. Life goes on, and the work is still true, even if it hurts to be here sometimes.
The only thing that really happened this week, was on Saturday, my companionship and another companionship went to a sushi restaurant to celebrate one of the elder’s birthdays. It was a good break from being inside the apartments, and inside of the library.
In Alma chapter 6, we read that Alma is going to go to the land of Gideon to preach to them and to teach them. Verse 8 reads,
“And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen.”
There is a footnote attached to this verse (footnote a on testimony) that takes us to Revelations 19:10. Now I know what you might be thinking, “Man, Elder B has lost his mind, because he is going to try and talk to us about Revelations!”, and you might be right. Although this verse that we are led to in Revelations is actually really simple and brings me some comfort. Verse 10 reads,
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
We are going to focus on the last part of this verse. “...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” I think that we as people tend to feel like God never really speaks to us, or that we have never really had any great miraculous visions, or revelations from God. But this verse teaches us a wonderful thing: that our own testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. If we have a testimony of the Savior, we have received revelation from God. In Matthew 16 we read,
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (v13-17)
Here we are taught that it is by the power of God that we receive our testimony of the Savior. I often find myself questioning myself, asking myself if I really have ever received revelation in my own life. I sit and ponder and worry, and then these few verses come to my mind. If I can, or if I have ever been able to confidently proclaim to anyone that I know that I have a Savior, who died for me and for all mankind, then I can truly say that I have received revelation.
Sometimes it feels like the heavens are shut. Like there is nothing coming to us. Radio silence. But I think that these are the times given to us, to prove to ourselves that we have faith. God knows each one of us perfectly, and he knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts better than we. So why would we have to prove to God that we are faithful? I think that in the times of silence, we are given an opportunity to help us solidify our testimonies in the gospel. We are given moments to stop and think back and ask ourselves, as Alma asked the people of Zarahemla, “...can ye feel so now?” Can you feel your connection to heaven? Can you feel your Savior’s love, even if it isn’t coming the way you normally feel it?
I am grateful for the gospel. I am so grateful for my knowledge that I have, that I know that I have a loving Heavenly Father, that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die for me, so that I can one day return to their presence. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, and the word of Christ that are contained inside of it. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it because I have made it my absolute focus to really know if it is the word of God the past year of my life, and every day I am touched in new ways concerning the book and its teachings. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that his successor today is Russell M. Nelson.
I love you all, and eagerly look forward to the day when I will be reunited with each of you.
Love,
Elder Bartholomew
This week has been just like the last while. Boring and dull. But that’s ok.
I realized that I haven’t really given a great explanation of my new assignment, so here it is:
My zone is the Church History Library Services zone. We are responsible for helping the library’s staff with the different patrons that visit the library. We help staff the main desk in the lobby, along with a member of church security, and are the first people to interact with anyone who comes through the doors and into the lobby (i.e. staff, missionaries, researchers, and other patrons). We ask what we can do to help the people who come in, and then we take the next steps to assist them. Some people who come into the library have never been inside, and come in either because they have mistaken it for the Family History Library, or the Church History Museum, so we often redirect them to the proper building that they wanted to go to in the first place. For those people who want to know more about the library, which is usually the majority of our guests, we take them back and give them a “tour”. What the tour includes is a small description of the building (basic information on the vaults in the building, the purpose behind the vaults, and what people can do in the library), and then we show them different artifacts that are in 4 cases at the back end of the library’s open area. The cases houses different things pertaining to the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, and other significant items to the church. We show them the different artifacts, and give a small explanation of each item.
We also help staff the reference desk in the main section of the library, with a library staff member. Here we (rarely) help people find books in our “open stacks” and reshelve books in the same stacks. The open stacks are just shelves that anyone can come in and read any book from. So the normal library part of the library. The other place we help staff is the reading room. This room is a room set aside for researchers from outside the library staff, who want to come in and read something, or look at an item that is in the “secure stacks”. This just means that the item is in one of the vaults in the building, and needs to be pulled from the stacks, and brought down to the reading room. There are a whole ton of rules about different things people can and can’t request, and things like that.
We do each one of these positions in an hour shift, and usually are assigned 2 different hour shifts throughout the day, in two different assignments.
The rest of our day is sitting in a cubicle helping index records for the library, to help make the catalog better.
On Saturdays we have youth groups come in (most of the time) and we give them a presentation on the translation of the Book of Mormon, and then show them the cases. I haven’t given the presentation, because I haven’t memorized the script, and I have been failing at my memorization skills lately, so I doubt I will be giving that presentation any time soon.
On Mondays we have a group come from the MTC, of missionaries from around the world, who are going all around the world. They are brought up because for most of these missionaries, they will most likely never be back in Utah again.
Honestly this zone is draining. I no longer have the same capacity to deal with people that I used to, so being at the greeter desk, giving tours, and helping the library staff is very taxing to me. I am tired all the time. And sitting in the back offices indexing drains the rest of my mental capacities, and my focus. The youth groups drain me for the same reason that the normal tours do, but the MTC groups are the worst. It’s been really hard to see these new missionaries from all over the world come to listen to me for like 10 minutes, and hear where they are going. I have met missionaries going all over the world. Tonga, Chile, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, and so many other places. It’s like a slap in the face, or salt in the wound, because I am asked by every single group where I am from and how long I have been out. The faces of those missionaries when they find out I am from Salt Lake pains me.
But oh well. Life goes on, and the work is still true, even if it hurts to be here sometimes.
The only thing that really happened this week, was on Saturday, my companionship and another companionship went to a sushi restaurant to celebrate one of the elder’s birthdays. It was a good break from being inside the apartments, and inside of the library.
In Alma chapter 6, we read that Alma is going to go to the land of Gideon to preach to them and to teach them. Verse 8 reads,
“And Alma went and began to declare the word of God unto the church which was established in the valley of Gideon, according to the revelation of the truth of the word which had been spoken by his fathers, and according to the spirit of prophecy which was in him, according to the testimony of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who should come to redeem his people from their sins, and the holy order by which he was called. And thus it is written. Amen.”
There is a footnote attached to this verse (footnote a on testimony) that takes us to Revelations 19:10. Now I know what you might be thinking, “Man, Elder B has lost his mind, because he is going to try and talk to us about Revelations!”, and you might be right. Although this verse that we are led to in Revelations is actually really simple and brings me some comfort. Verse 10 reads,
“And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
We are going to focus on the last part of this verse. “...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” I think that we as people tend to feel like God never really speaks to us, or that we have never really had any great miraculous visions, or revelations from God. But this verse teaches us a wonderful thing: that our own testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. If we have a testimony of the Savior, we have received revelation from God. In Matthew 16 we read,
“When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (v13-17)
Here we are taught that it is by the power of God that we receive our testimony of the Savior. I often find myself questioning myself, asking myself if I really have ever received revelation in my own life. I sit and ponder and worry, and then these few verses come to my mind. If I can, or if I have ever been able to confidently proclaim to anyone that I know that I have a Savior, who died for me and for all mankind, then I can truly say that I have received revelation.
Sometimes it feels like the heavens are shut. Like there is nothing coming to us. Radio silence. But I think that these are the times given to us, to prove to ourselves that we have faith. God knows each one of us perfectly, and he knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts better than we. So why would we have to prove to God that we are faithful? I think that in the times of silence, we are given an opportunity to help us solidify our testimonies in the gospel. We are given moments to stop and think back and ask ourselves, as Alma asked the people of Zarahemla, “...can ye feel so now?” Can you feel your connection to heaven? Can you feel your Savior’s love, even if it isn’t coming the way you normally feel it?
I am grateful for the gospel. I am so grateful for my knowledge that I have, that I know that I have a loving Heavenly Father, that he sent His Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die for me, so that I can one day return to their presence. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, and the word of Christ that are contained inside of it. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it because I have made it my absolute focus to really know if it is the word of God the past year of my life, and every day I am touched in new ways concerning the book and its teachings. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that his successor today is Russell M. Nelson.
I love you all, and eagerly look forward to the day when I will be reunited with each of you.
Love,
Elder Bartholomew
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