Dear Elder Williams,
How was your week? Are you meeting any new folks? I hope your new area is good and you find it a nice place to be.
I just finished reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Talk about outraged! It helped me understand the rise of the Socialist party back at the turn of the century and the reason that unions became so influential. I can really see how important it is to have a balanced perspective and not to be myopic in your views. There is such an imbalance in government and politics. People view each other as enemies which is counterproductive. If we could see each other as people and listen and understand, then we could have a civil dialogue and solve the problems that are raging around us. Unfortunately the discourse breaks down and people fight for opinion and bias rather than for solutions and truth. It's like battling a hydra--- one head is lopped off only to grow three more which prove to be more violent and have sharper teeth.
I also listened to a book called You Are Now Less Dumb. I loved it and it was hilarious because it pointed out how skewed our thinking frequently is. We believe that we're rational and governed by reason, but humans are truly emotional beings. Not that feelings are bad, but sometimes they override logic and get us into tangles and knots. It was a funny, entertaining, eye-opening book. I think you would like it.
I have a question and was wondering if you know the answer. Why did Jesus come through the lineage of the Jews? Judah was a sinful man. Why didn't Christ come through Joesph's line? He was the chosen one and a type and shadow of the savior. I was thinking about this and couldn't find anything to clarify it.
Dad and I are reading the Doctrine and Covenants together. I truly love that book of scripture. I think it's so thought provoking and inspiring. I think if you are looking then many mysteries are unfolded to you in this book.
You are in our prayers. We think about you and the people you are teaching. God be with you 'till we meet again.
With love,
Mom
Dear Mom,
I have had a great week. I love the way the members magnify their callings here in Vacaville. We had a ward blitz, and all of the missionaries in the zone split with one of the members from my ward. We went and visited a lot of people, so now we have a lot of work to do these coming weeks.
We have seen a lot of miracles contacting. We have been guided to people who are really elect. We found a part member family, and it turns out that they were already planning on coming to church. Alyssa is the member, and Brandon is her husband. They are going to have a baby here in the next few months, so they wanted to go to church and start working on a foundation for their family. I am excited to see the progress.
There is also a lady named Ashley who has been taught for a number of months, but she hasn't been baptized because her husband Adam hasn't been 100% on board. We were able to have a great lesson with them and I think this was the first time Adam had actually been taught. I'd really appreciate if you could keep them in your prayers.
I remember The Jungle. I guess you could say that was part of a "turning point' in many ways. It is interesting to see the increasing polarization in nearly all aspects of life. It will be interesting to see how these closing scenes play out. We have to be those examples of love and understanding.
I do have an answer for you. Christ was born through the line of Judah on the merits of King David. You are right, Judah wasn't exactly a stand up guy. God covenanted with David that Christ would be born through his line.
"There will I make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed." Psalms 132:17
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." Jeremiah 23:5
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:" Isaiah 11:1/ 2 Nephi 21:1
That's what I know about it. I don't really know of any prophesies about Christ necessitating him being born of Judah.
I'm happy to hear that you and dad are reading the scriptures together. That's something I want to do with my spouse.
Love,
Elder Williams
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