My First "Epistle"

Hello!

I'm Sister Miranda Haws! I am a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This means that I have set aside  a year and a half of my time to serve and help others come closer to Jesus Christ. I'm not the first person to do this, nor will I be the last! But I am ONE of the first missionaries that has received authorization to spend some time per day, teaching and posting on the Internet! Which means that my life just got a bit more amazing!

I've decided to write a blog, mostly, because I enjoy writing and perhaps this would be a good chance to use that enjoyment to help edify others. Once again, not the first missionary who has done this! Actually one of my favorite missionaries of all time had a very effective blog that he shared with every person he came in contact with, even though he was technically alone in a prison cell. I am, of course talking about the Apostle Paul of the New Testament; and, yes, they weren't blogs they were "epistles": Letters sent out to different missionaries and regions that he had met to help strengthen them, even though he couldn't be with them in person. He encouraged everyone he wrote to share the letters with anyone they felt could benefit. It was mostly a forum for expounding on doctrine, giving warnings, sharing experience and voicing affection and inspiration.

 . . .

Okay, I don't care who you are! That is the very definition of a Blog! Just because it wasn't TECHNICALLY a "WebLog", it serves the same purpose. Paul was a Biblical Blogger. Deal with it.

I can't be with everyone on the internet. I can't even be with anyone at home, as I am called to serve in a specific area for the rest of my mission. But I still think about you. I still feel concern for those I love. I still want to share what I've learned with others. So think of this as "the First Epistle of Sister Haws to the People of the Internet." This is my Letter to every one who wants to listen. I'm proud to be like Paul for a while everyday.

I'd definitely say that Paul is one of my heroes. I respect anyone who can write with such eloquence and passion about what he believes, but mostly he's my hero because of this (read it fast):

Romans 7:13-21
13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

I give you, ladies and gentlemen, a Biblical Tongue Twister. Seriously. I love him.

But, in all seriousness, I love Paul. He is my hero, because I read him and I relate to him. I think we all can in a way . . . 

Okay, I know we are talking about Paul- Formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, persecutor of the Church of God and bringer of death unto the followers of Christ- who would become, one of the greatest missionaries of the old world, if not all time. How do we relate to that? Well, hear me out.

Saul was a devout follower of the Law of Moses, as it was followed before Christ came. He was taught by the great leaders and scribes of the day and when it came to persecuting Christians, he was all for it! His first appearance in the Bible is at the stoning of Stephen. He was holding everybody's coats while they gathered rocks. (Acts 7) He then began a crusade to destroy or imprison anyone who called on the Name of Jesus Christ. He was given approval to send out an order of arrest for all the Christian leaders and followers. Saul was on his way and in Acts 9, it says that his hatred and destruction had become so great that he was STOPPED. On the road to Damascus, he received a visitation from Jesus Christ Himself.

After all that Saul had done, and all that he intended to do, he was stopped by the very One who he was persecuting. What would become of him? What punishments were in store for this man? I say that he was stopped, but he wasn't destroyed . . . 

Saul was doing terrible things. They can easily be described as Evil. But, I don't think the Savior saw him as evil.

Imagine being taught all your life that the only way to serve God was to do certain things in a certain way. Any deviation was a sin, worthy of shunning. Whoever suggested another way was an enemy to God. You were given no higher thought than "Shun the Non-Believer!" (say it like the two unicorns in Charlie the Unicorn) and exalt the followers to the highest prestige. You've dedicated your life to this.

And then a new way is presented. It claims to be the truth from God himself. This shouldn't shake you up, but your leaders- the teachers, mentors and guides of your childhood- are reacting with violent anger. They seek to destroy the source of this dissension and they succeed. But the influence is still there. Despite the apparent death of "the corrupter", His followers are still alive and growing and spreading the word.

As a follower of your own leaders, you- with all the passion and zeal you possess support them with your own defense. You are happy and proud to defend your faith and your leaders are praising and promoting your efforts. You are moving forward and happy to do it and then  . . . You are stopped. 

Under miraculous circumstances, you are stopped in your journey by the very same "corrupter" you thought to be dead. In no uncertain terms, He tells you that your leaders are wrong, and your actions, so long thought to be admirable, are works of destruction AGAINST God. You were wrong. You've hurt many people and killed many more. Now what?

This is where Saul impresses me. He's humbled. His first response is simply asking what he should do next. (Acts 9:6). - He wasn't angry. He didn't panic or doubt. He didn't try to blame anyone else for his actions. he accepted the truth placed in front of him and ran with the new path placed in front of him, (Acts 9:20) and began to serve God in a new way, but with as much energy and zeal as he ever did as Saul.

Hearing it like this, could you do it? Could you hear a contradiction, even a condemnation, of everything you've known and just . . . go with it? No moment of self pity or angry desperation: Humble Obedience. Paul left Saul on that road to Damascus and went on to do great things, but I think that this moment is the clearest indicator of who Saul AND Paul were. Saul did evil, but who he was, truly, was a devout servant of God filled with passion and determination and faith. he was just using it wrong.

 I feel that's what Christ saw in him all along, someone with so much potential that was lost. So He stopped him. Much like he did to the Scribes and Pharisees a few years earlier with a simple sentence, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17) Interpreted to mean, "I'm not here to destroy everything you know. I know what is good and great in it. I will magnify and expand on those great things and they will be for the good of all."

He did the same with Saul. Christ didn't meet Saul on the road to Damascus to destroy . . . but to fulfill. Just as the Law of Moses became the Higher Law of Christ, Saul of Tarsus became Paul: Missionary to the Gentiles.

That is what Christ has always done. When He created the world and man he used the materials given to create something greater, for our benefit and God's purpose. Now He takes us, when we lack direction, yet contain so much potential, and creates someone new- Someone that can do good and serve God. Every single being on earth contains that same potential. It is only a matter of meeting Him on the Road to Damascus and being willing to change directions. 

Like Paul, the Savior KNOWS us and has chosen us for a wise purpose. We are always capable of more than we know. We were created to do Good! Whether that good is Clothing the Naked, Feeding the Hungry, Visiting the Sick and Lonely or . . . writing a blog. Giving a hug. Knowing when to open your mouth and talk. We all have talents and potential, even if we feel like we haven't been living up to it.

Saul started out making a lot of mistakes. Worse mistakes than most of us will ever make. But when Christ came to him, He didn't tear him to pieces, He built Saul up to his true potential. Christ wants to build us up, not tear us down. When He stops us on the Road to Damascus, it's not to halt our journey, but to perpetuate our progression. I hope that I can always try to be like Saul AND Paul. Accept the correction and then go forward and do good.

That's my first epistle to you all. I hope there will be many more.

" I thank my God upon every remembrance of you," (Phillipians 1:3)

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen, 

Sister Haws