He shall prepare a way for them...

What a week this has been, and what I have to say to you all.

First of all, last Monday, we had to pick up an Elder that was transferred from Kazakhstan to Omsk, and he missed his flight directly, so he came here to Novosibirsk. We had to get two Elders from Omsk to take a last-minute train here, and they left the next day. That was stressful, but all worked out.

What is really stressing me out right now is the District Conference that will be held this week. We will be broadcasting it on this church-created program called Vidiyou, or something like that. It is like a better version of Skype. We are in charge of making sure it runs smoothly. It scares me, working with such technology, and having such a conference in our hands. I don't know what my brothers did on their missions, but I feel like in the center of how the church runs. Regular conversations with leaders from across the globe, broadcasting, coordinating presidency meetings across the continent, this is tough!

Elder Bennett of the Seventy is here in Novosibirsk. Well, not right now. He is on a tour of the mission, and I think right now he is in Kazakhstan with President Gibbons. It has been really crazy here with this general authority. We are having a dual zone conference with him, and we are just trying to get everything nice and pretty for when he talks to us this Friday.

This last week, I just finished the Book of Mormon for the fourth time, and the newer perceptions and inspiration just keep coming. I have been thinking of Nephi, and how he had such faith. I don't know about you, but there are multiple times where I am overwhelmed, and I fall on my knees in exhaustion, and I ask "What's next?" How could Nephi have such faith to say, " I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way for them..."? I feel what helped Nephi increase his faith was his constant exercising of it. He prays multiple times, even right after the Lord softens his heart, when Nephi wanted to know the secrets of God, he prays in behalf of his brothers, that they can soften their hearts. Read and see how many times it talks about Nephi praying.

Nephi had a lot of unsuccessful events in his life. They tried twice to get the plates, even giving up all their possessions. He gets tied up and left for dead by his brothers. He breaks his bow. His brothers laugh at him for trying to build a boat. He gets tied up AGAIN by his brothers on the ship. One might think, 'If I am doing the Lord's work, why is nothing working?" I admit, I have had this thought poison my mind many a time, and really there is no answer. We can't comprehend what Heavenly Father has in store for us. The trials are necessary for growth and learning. I remember one time, I prayed to Heavenly Father, and asked, "Why is this all happening?" The craziness of missionary work is very draining. I distinctly remember feeling, "I have a great work for you, but you first need to go through the refiner’s fire." That is with all of us. Heavenly Father has a great work for each and every one of us. We need to be tried and tested to prepare us for when that time comes. It is like the fiery darts of the adversary. They are constantly beating us down, trying to get us to stop going forward. These fiery darts can be temptations, sicknesses, sin, just the daily unlucky things that happen in life. What doesn't matter is how many times you were hit, or even how many times you got up. It just matters is that you get up when that dart hits you. It is not worth complaining, worrying, or hesitating. Just brush off the ash, stand up, and continue walking.

We are in a war right now. The Adversary is actively fighting against us, and he is using every single weakness, every single vulnerable point in our spiritual defense. I see right now how real this war is. His weapons are many, and they come in many different views and varieties. I could not survive here without the basic things that we do every day. Prayer, Scripture study, these things are as crucial as food and water. I couldn't even make it more than a week without Church and partaking of the sacrament. These few things help reinforce our defense system. Without constant reinforcement, like what Captain Moroni did, we will fall. It is inevitable. We cannot afford to be careless for even one second. That is how powerful Satan is. But we have the assurance that if we do all we can, we are more powerful that he can ever be.

Я Живу. Поэтому я радуюсь. (Yah Zhee-voo. Pah-eto-moo, yah rad-oo-yoos) I live. Therefore I rejoice.  We live in such a wonderful time, when the Gospel is restored to the earth. Let us show our gratitude, and partake of the water and bread of Life. Let us remember our Savior, and apply His atonement in our lives, so that we may be made clean through Him. Of this I know and testify.

Elder Hoggan (The Siberian Messenger)
Старейшина Хогган (Сибирский Посланник)

Elder Hoggan at Red Square in Moscow