10/9/13

Dear… uh… Everyone!!
I’m going to get right down to it this week. My dad sent me a very inspiring e-mail, and I’m going to share it with all of you with a few notes of my own.

“BYU wore the "SPIRIT, TRADITION, HONOR" jerseys this week.  And you know what, the world didn't come to an end.  The GATECH play by play guy tweeted out a list of the 40 or so player names on the pronunciation guide for BYU and asked if he was being punked.  I am sure that the call of "Spirit takes the snap, the rush comes, Tradition picks up the blitz and it's a long TD pass to Honor!" would not have been much easier than calling a blitz by Manumaleuna.  The jersey's got me thinking though.  These words are the core value of the team.  It is on the stadium, on the field, in the locker room and on t-shirts.  What would I put on my jersey if I were asked to do so?  Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Courteous....?  Lazy, Procrastinator, Untrust...ing?  We know from the Sacrament prayer that we take upon us the name of the Savior.  Would my jersey say Christian?  Disciple?  You have an opportunity that though you do not have a jersey, you do wear a name tag bearing the name of Christ.  I know that as part of "putting on the whole armor of god", I need to put on my jersey that correctly identifies what team I am on and who I am fighting for.”

And in my reply:
“It’s so true that in everything we do we are being watched, observed and most importantly labeled. There was a talk not too long back about painting the name of Christ on our heart. We also know that we are supposed to always have Christ in our countenance. I know that now, I have been labeled some pretty unsavory things as a missionary (my personal “favorite” being “Mormon scum!!”) but along with that have been titles like “Godsend” and “the answer to my prayer.” I wear the name of Christ proudly on my chest as a missionary, but that doesn’t mean that when I get home I have any more reason to take it off. I pray that when I return to live with my Heavenly Father, he rewards me with a jersey with the name reading something along the lines of “Son” or “Good and Faithful Servant” ”

I love the Gospel, I love Wisconsin, I love Hmong, I loved General Conference, I love this work, and I love you all

Elder Larsen,

P.s... for those who don't know already (Thanks mom...) I've been accepted to BYU!! Summer semester 2015 :)