New Again
April 6th, 2026
No time to lose, we're gonna drop into a spiritual thought straight off the rip
Mosiah 27:25-26 "all mankind... must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."
I have seen a man be born again. On my first day in Puerto Rico I met Pedro, an older man living in a retirement home. My comp had met him a few weeks prior and he had accepted a baptismal invitation. Based off my short first interaction, I didn't judge him to be capable of self care or... all there mentally. In the few weeks I've been on this island, I've seen him completely change. He's cleaned his apartment, he's active in lessons and he has such a strong testimony. I've seen him be miraculously healed and I've seen the joy on his face as he's continued to learn about the Restored Gospel and the plan God has for us.
Yesterday, he took the first step down the covenant path and was baptized "of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5). He will now have the companionship of the Holy Spirit for the rest of his life. As I prepared to serve a mission and saw the atonement impact my life, my desire to share that with others increased dramatically. I'm confident I'll get to see this change in many more people over the next two years but I wanted to share this first experience of seeing the redeeming and saving power of Jesus Christ.
You can see the joy on his face
This week hasn't been particularly eventful. My comp continues to be very "exact obedience" and it's probably good for me, but I wouldn't mind having... fun? I certainly experience joy, missionary work is immensly fulfilling. But a bit of shallow fun would be nice. It's mostly okay, but then I see how much fun other missionaries are having and I get supa jealous. 99% sure he's making up more rules to follow than actually exist.
No time to lose, we're gonna drop into a spiritual thought straight off the rip
Mosiah 27:25-26 "all mankind... must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."
I have seen a man be born again. On my first day in Puerto Rico I met Pedro, an older man living in a retirement home. My comp had met him a few weeks prior and he had accepted a baptismal invitation. Based off my short first interaction, I didn't judge him to be capable of self care or... all there mentally. In the few weeks I've been on this island, I've seen him completely change. He's cleaned his apartment, he's active in lessons and he has such a strong testimony. I've seen him be miraculously healed and I've seen the joy on his face as he's continued to learn about the Restored Gospel and the plan God has for us.
Yesterday, he took the first step down the covenant path and was baptized "of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5). He will now have the companionship of the Holy Spirit for the rest of his life. As I prepared to serve a mission and saw the atonement impact my life, my desire to share that with others increased dramatically. I'm confident I'll get to see this change in many more people over the next two years but I wanted to share this first experience of seeing the redeeming and saving power of Jesus Christ.
You can see the joy on his face
This week hasn't been particularly eventful. My comp continues to be very "exact obedience" and it's probably good for me, but I wouldn't mind having... fun? I certainly experience joy, missionary work is immensly fulfilling. But a bit of shallow fun would be nice. It's mostly okay, but then I see how much fun other missionaries are having and I get supa jealous. 99% sure he's making up more rules to follow than actually exist.
In conclusion: I still have a lot of personal development ahead of me.
♤ We tried to go on a hike for P-day but the hermanas had a billion excuses so we didn't make it far
♡ On Wednesday and Thursday I got so much free food I thought I would pop. I wish it was spread out more over the week
◇ I got a digital camera! So now I'm the obnoxious guy with the digital camera.
♧ "What religion are you guys?" "We're missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" "Oh, I thought y'all were mormon" "Haha, no" I love watching their expressions when we then pull out El Libro De Mormón
New email segment alert!
Question of the week
This is from Saul¹ of Ace ;)
Q: "I'm curious how you will celebrate Easter Sunday this year? Maybe this explanation could be part of your next email."
A: Excellent question! This weekend we had the privlege of enjoying another session of General Conference. General Confernce is a semiannual weekend event our church hold. All the church leaders gather in the Conferce Center (one of the biggest rooms I've ever been in) and broadcast messages of hope and love - focused on our Savior and Redeemer - across the Globe.
Because this event happens on the 1st weekend of April and October, it sometimes happens on Easter Sunday. So we had a special service last week. We invited everyone, we had more musical numbers, and some wonderful messages. Our bishop took a selfie because he was so happy with how many people showed up.
And btw, if you have any questions, totally ask! I didn't (and still don't) have a very solid grasp on what a mission was like, so if you're curious, I'm more than happy to answer to the best of my knowlege and experience. I might respond to stuff in the group email, I might just directly reply.
♤ We tried to go on a hike for P-day but the hermanas had a billion excuses so we didn't make it far
♡ On Wednesday and Thursday I got so much free food I thought I would pop. I wish it was spread out more over the week
◇ I got a digital camera! So now I'm the obnoxious guy with the digital camera.
♧ "What religion are you guys?" "We're missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" "Oh, I thought y'all were mormon" "Haha, no" I love watching their expressions when we then pull out El Libro De Mormón
New email segment alert!
Question of the week
This is from Saul¹ of Ace ;)
Q: "I'm curious how you will celebrate Easter Sunday this year? Maybe this explanation could be part of your next email."
A: Excellent question! This weekend we had the privlege of enjoying another session of General Conference. General Confernce is a semiannual weekend event our church hold. All the church leaders gather in the Conferce Center (one of the biggest rooms I've ever been in) and broadcast messages of hope and love - focused on our Savior and Redeemer - across the Globe.
Because this event happens on the 1st weekend of April and October, it sometimes happens on Easter Sunday. So we had a special service last week. We invited everyone, we had more musical numbers, and some wonderful messages. Our bishop took a selfie because he was so happy with how many people showed up.
And btw, if you have any questions, totally ask! I didn't (and still don't) have a very solid grasp on what a mission was like, so if you're curious, I'm more than happy to answer to the best of my knowlege and experience. I might respond to stuff in the group email, I might just directly reply.
The stray dogs here are definition "all bark, no bite" and if you just stomp your feet they'll scurry away. Sometimes I'll full sprint at them, I love the panic in their eyes. Someday I'll stomp at one and he won't run away and then I'll have to get rabbies shots.
Send me emails if you want, I appreciate all of them, even the ones from my parents weird friends (shout out!), and I read every single one of 'em. Have an amazing week!
Dios le bendiga,
Élder Smith
¹biblical humor for the win
Send me emails if you want, I appreciate all of them, even the ones from my parents weird friends (shout out!), and I read every single one of 'em. Have an amazing week!
Dios le bendiga,
Élder Smith
¹biblical humor for the win
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