Joshua Sabey's Letter

We will put Joshua Sabey's missionary letters here.> Subject: Sept 21 Mormon vs moron
> From: jsabey3@myldsmail.net
> To: sabey8@msn.com
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:07:41 +0000
>
> Well first things first. I didn't recieve a picture of Rachel and her date. I would like to recieve it. And in response to mom's question about Obama and Rachelss experience with Pierce, I had an experience about a month ago that irritated me like a crick in the neck for the longest time. We had scheduled to meet with an 18 year old boy who had had some questions and was fairly interested in hearing what we had to say. We showed up to the appointment and his dad met us. He said, "I dont force religone on my kids and I won’t have you guys forcing religion on them either." With annoyance and distain he told us to leave. I wouldn't have left if my companion hadn't practically pulled me away. I was absolutely indignant. I wanted to pound down his door and tell him what a fool he was. You are forcing religion if you are not allowing him a chance to expand his mind. That is ignorance and we cannot be free in ignorance (Thomas Jefferson). Freedom is the ability to accept input and do what we will with it. To reject what is evil and accept what is good. But it is a dangerous path. "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Censurship is important. We sensor movies that we watch and things that destroy. We cannot simply stand against the pricks; come what may, but must with wisdom cut our way. And so it becomes confusing. We must expand our mind but not so far as to exceed our soul and thus perish. They must grow together. When you have tasted a fruit and tasted it was rotten it is of no good to contiue eating rotten fruit. But so many people today are like children and look at a dish they've never tried or learned about and say “I don’t like it.” Or they trust the other kids rather than their parents. They are ignorant and are led by the few people who seek to control. It is a mess when we get into censoring and the consequences which is why freedom is so important but equally important is tolerance. I will let you debate amongst yoursleves the implications of that stament but it suficeth me for now to say that I am ashamed that LPS didn't watch the president’s speech. That is truly shameful. If a parent had disagreed with some element the school could have let them adress it and present the antithesis. You are taking the kids out of their own history. The president is our president and out leader and is speeking to them. He would not be so foolish to present a politically charged agenda to children. What damage that would do to his agenda. If the parents truly thought he would and truly wanted to "bring him down" they should have let it happen and used it against him... But possibly more disgusting to me is this Peirce character. Not because it is of more signigicance but because it is with my family and my sister and my religion and my God. What a little boy he seems to me. He couldn't tell his dad? What is there to be ashamed of? It would be understandable if they married within the religion or with in the covenant but I presume that if it had been another girl from some other popular Luthrane denomination that Peirce would have been fine. What do they disagree with? That we don’t drink... or that we choose to abstain from coffee. Or abstance until marrige? Perhaps our stand on grace and mercy. We believe that faith without works is dead. That there is no such thing as faith without works. That faith and works are so inseperably connected that to remove one is to destroy the other. How are we to know (see) god? (1john3) "we shall be like him" I challenge anyone to understand god without works. I challenge anyone to have chairty without works. It is not an internal thing but external. We lose oursleves. Religone is external not for show but for growth and to get out of ourselves. Perhaps they disagree with our view of the trinity which has far more evidence within the bible than any other interpretation and for logic’s sake alone should be understood. The trinity is an example of dangerous ideas. People dont realize that they are even being influenced by men’s interpritation hundreds of years ago that has been thrust upon them and colored their vision. They know not the source. Perhaps they disagree with our emphasis on family or knowlege or hard work or charitiy or diligence or mercy or faith in the lord Jesus Christ? I want to hear why they despise us and why they despised the savior of old and despise him stilll today. Just give me one solid point of doctrine that any real criticism deserves to stand. I ask for one! Okay I'm over that. (Maybe you should "censure" who you forward this too ha ha ha)
>
> We had a lot of lessons this week which was a blessing after a fairly dry spell. I don’t feel like I'm a great missionary. I don’t contact well because my mind is failry open to ideas and I don’t see things all that black and white and so I have trouble making bold assertions sometimes--I know that is hard to believe. But I see how people are right and then attempt to critique it slightly to make it more right. I end up wasting time with someone who won’t be interested ever and listening to them monologue about something that is really not that important. But our lessons were good. We are teaching a man (mike smith) who I think is really a good guy. But he questions all his good. He talks about revenge but knows deep down that it is pointless. His wife and he got in an argument and he said to us that it was probally all his fault and I think he was right but he just questions all his right answers because he doesn't have the sure foundation. He is very philisophical and sometimes I get too philisophical with him. He is a good man and I respect him.
> WEll times up. Goodluck Cubby and Matt with your sports. Cubby Matt Rachel Ali.... I’m waiting for the letters that tell me how much you miss and love me... Hoorah for Israel, ere the red sun rises...
> Elder Sabey

> P.S. Sister Howell has created a Mission Blog for your families. Please forward the link: http://mmmmiracles.blogspot.com/ Missionaries are not allowed to look at the blog; however, your parents can save you pictures, etc. from all over the mission . . . I will be explaining different mission traditions, etc. at the bottom of the blog, they can click on older entries (from last week). They can return to the newer posts, when it says click on new entry. Clicking on a picture with their cursor enlarges it; they can also download it or drag it to a photo library. All phoned-in miracles will be recorded on the blog.