10th Week San Miguel, San Jose

Family ~

Many of you know this and some don´t, but a mission is not the easiest thing I have done in my life. Actually it is one of the hardest!

This week has been a little difficult then others but it really has helped me for the better.
I have never loved to read but this week I just had to. I was bothered by so many things that I found that the only way to get my thoughts away and to find peace was listen to church music and read the scriptures.

As I was reading the scriptures this week I found two that I loved and want to share with you! Both are in the Book of Mormon in the book of Alma

1 Now we will return in our record to Amalickiah and those who had fled with him into the wilderness; for, behold, he had taken those who went with him, and went up in the land of Nephi among the Lamanites, and did stir up the Lamanites to anger against the people of Nephi, insomuch that the king of the Lamanites sent a proclamation throughout all his land, among all his people, that they should gather themselves together again to go to battle against the Nephites.
2 And it came to pass that when the proclamation had gone forth among them they were exceedingly afraid; yea, they feared to displease the king, and they also feared to go to battle against the Nephites lest they should lose their lives. And it came to pass that they would not, or the more part of them would not, obey the commandments of the king.
3 And now it came to pass that the king was wroth because of their disobedience; therefore he gave Amalickiah the command of that part of his army which was obedient unto his commands, and commanded him that he should go forth and compel them to arms.
4 Now behold, this was the desire of Amalickiah; for he being a very subtle man to do evil therefore he laid the plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites.
5 And now he had got the command of those parts of the Lamanites who were in favor of the king; and he sought to gain favor of those who were not obedient; therefore he went forward to the place which was called Onidah, for thither had all the Lamanites fled; for they discovered the army coming, and, supposing that they were coming to destroy them, therefore they fled to Onidah, to the place of arms.
6 And they had appointed a man to be a king and a leader over them, being fixed in their minds with a determined resolution that they would not be subjected to go against the Nephites.
7 And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle.
8 Now it was not Amalickiah’s intention to give them battle according to the commandments of the king; but behold, it was his intention to gain favor with the armies of the Lamanites, that he might place himself at their head and dethrone the king and take possession of the kingdom.
9 And behold, it came to pass that he caused his army to pitch their tents in the valley which was near the mount Antipas.
10 And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.
11 And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time.
12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti’s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.
13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti’s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army.
14 And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti.
15 And it came to pass that when they saw that they were surrounded, they pled with Amalickiah that he would suffer them to fall in with their brethren, that they might not be destroyed. Now this was the very thing which Amalickiah desired.
16 And it came to pass that he delivered his men, contrary to the commands of the king. Now this was the thing that Amalickiah desired, that he might accomplish his designs in dethroning the king.
17 Now it was the custom among the Lamanites, if their chief leader was killed, to appoint the second leader to be their chief leader.
18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died.
19 Now, when Lehonti was dead, the Lamanites appointed Amalickiah to be their leader and their chief commander.

I love this story because it shows that the hardest battles that we will fight is inside of us. A little evil will try to always creep into our lives and can destroy us so easily. This battle that we have within ourselves we must win. And it is only through the power of God that we will win every battle.

59 For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flockdoth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.
60 And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.

If there is evil within us we need to drive it out just like the shepard drives out the wolves. We have the opportunity to change ourselves and become more like Christ everyday and get rid of the bad that dwells inside of us. This bad or evil can kill us spiritually and WILL kill us spiritually if we let it. But by always obeying the commandments of God we can drive out all the evil in our lives. I was very grateful to learn about this and put it into practice to turn my frown upside down

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love,
Elder Moss

Beds in our apt

Elder Ruiz from Guatemala

9th Week San Miguel, San Jose

Family ~

Who is Christ? What did He do for us?

Something that I have always been puzzled about and wanted to know more about it the Atonement of Jesús Christ. The only begotten son of God. Who came to the Earth to complete a misión and to fulfill God´s purpose. I can´t imagine what he really went through for us. To come and atone for every one of our sins. EVERYONEs that includes mine, yours, and every man whether he be King or man stuck in prison. Christ came here and went through pains and affliciones suffering for every one of our sins. Giving a gift that we can forever use. An eternal gift. 

How great does that sound? An eternal gift that will give us Eternal Life. I will forever be grateful for what He did for me. I don´t think I will truly understand how and what kind of pain he went through for me but I know that He did it. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane sweating drops of blood. Then was betrayed by one of His apostles and was crucified. He was resurrected a perfect being and we have this gift and resurrection. 

As I try to understand and apply the atonement daily I cannot express the love I have for Christ for what He did for us. That we can have this eternal gift. There are lots of scriptures about atonement but one of my favorites is in Alma 7

 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

We all are or have been in a prison of sins. That´s just a true fact for being man. Christ suffered for us and gave us a key to open up this prison and become free of sin. All we have to is take the key open the door and walk outside. It is simple and we all can have it through the steps of repentance.

I bear testimony that I know Christ lives. That he suffered for everyone of us and that we have this gift of eternal life. I am so very grateful for all that I have been given and for this love. In the name of Jesús Christ, Amen

Love, Elder Moss

8th Week San Miguel, San Jose

Family ~

It was great to see you all yesterday and to be able to talk with the entire Moss family! What a blessing to have technology in our lives like Skype that we could talk from Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Arizona, and Utah!

Skype with Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, AZ and UT.

Yesterday was Mothers day and I want to share a story about mothers and how great mothers and grandmothers are in our lives! Especially mine!
In the Book of Mormon there is a story about 2,000 stripling warriors. Who were brave and had a great Faith in God whom obeyed all the commandments with exactness. These young warriors were taught by their mothers.

1. Two thousand stripling warriors, young men of power and might

Responded to the battle cry; O who will stand and fight?

Behold, our God is with us! We serve at His command.

They did not fear to give their lives but boldly took a stand.

Baptisms in our ward.

2. This willing band of brothers were by their mothers taught

To trust in God continually, be true in deed and thought.

For God would then protect them; their faith He would reward.

They did not doubt their mothers knew; they trusted in the Lord.

3. With Helaman, their leader, this valiant brotherhood

United in exceeding faith, and fearlessly they stood.

With no desire for bloodshed but wanting to be free,

They fought for life and liberty, for God and family

4. Two thousand stripling warriors, courageous for their cause,

Went forth as with the strength of God, and not one soul was lost.

Their faith had made them mighty; their strength was multiplied.

They fought with power beyond their own, for God was on their side.

Alma 56

46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.

47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

I am so grateful for a mom who taught me how to be a great man. That she taught me to keep on the iron rod and always obey the covenants I made with God. She set an example to me to follow through with the things I´ve started and how to give the love of service to others. From staying up all night with me as a baby, teaching me how to tie my shoes, taking me to soccer practice, keeping up with the headache I gave her as a teenager, and supporting me as I leave on a mission to serve God and His children. Moms make this world beautiful and have love and I am so very grateful for having the best mom ever!

I love you all so much!

Happy Mothers day! (Yesterday)

Elder Moss

Cooking corn at a members house

Bus ride with comp Elder Luna and Clay White's cousin
Elder Shoemaker

Cooking pot pie for some investigators

Pot Pie

7th Week San Miguel, San Jose

Family ~

Another week has flown by and I do not know what happened with the time! It feels as if just an hour ago I was writing you all again!

It´s funny how quickly a place becomes my home. When I started here in Costa Rica it was hard to adjust and become accustomed too. Then I adjusted to the apartment I was in and soon found it to be my home that I felt homesick when I wasn´t staying the night there. I lived there for more than 6 months then had changes that moved me to San Miguel where the house is a lot smaller, dirtier, and nothing like the first area. It took me awhile to adjust to it but now I call it home. It isn´t the biggest or the prettiest but it´s where the spirit dwells and where I can go to for safety and where I learn many things. One thing that has helped me so much is the members and the church in every area. That is something that will never change! In every part of the world are loving Latter-Day Saints who are so welcoming and the church becomes a home.

I remember one night in High School when I was just having a rough time. I don´t really remember what it was but I do remember that my uncle took me on a car ride. He drove me around telling me a story of when he was young and an experience he had as a youth. He soon came to a stop and pulled the car over and I looked up to see we were in the parking lot of the church. I never will forget that moment and what I felt as I saw the church. The church is a place of refuge just like the home. It´s where we can always go to when we have problems. And where we should always go to renew our covenants with our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to be a member of HIS church. Where no matter where I go in the world I can find devout Saints and a church building to call my home.

I am so grateful for all of the experiences I´ve had and for the wonderful family who has helped me become who I´ve become. Not only my family but also my church family!

I love you all and will see your faces in less than a week!

Elder Moss

Photos courtesy of Lore Benavente.
Thank you