Elder Brady Todd Berry: March 28, 2011 The Glass Half Full

Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-21

Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-21
18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
19 An if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Monday, March 28, 2011

March 28, 2011 The Glass Half Full

Hi Everyone!

Well it is funny how my family just got the same lesson from the home teachers yesterday as I did. But yesterday in church we had a lesson on “why we need to look at the glass being half full, instead of half empty. I guess there was a talk or section in the new Liahona that talked about how we should look at things. When we get the new one, I can’t wait to read what the apostles have to say about the subject.

The past couple of weeks I have had what seems like major challenges to me but really SMALL problems/trails with my skin, and eyes among other things. Yes I felt like I was suffering and I wondered why all these things were happening to me. (I was looking at the cup half empty) But then I realized that there is so much in my cup that I should be thankful for. I have no reason but to rejoice for everything that the lord has done for me. In Alma 56:47 says "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."

The stripping sons (I feel) had much more reason then I do to have look at the cup half empty. Again, they “were marching in to war to battle, and they had never fought or were even trained in such an activity, putting their lives on the line for their families but they did not fear, and didn’t doubt that the Lord would deliver them.

In the D&C 6:36 the Lord commands us to “look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not”. Just by being a member of the church of Jesus Christ there is already more in my cup than what is in the cup of most of the world. I have the spirit of God with me, to help me in everything that I do. Just like the stripping sons, I have been taught by my mother the things I need to do. One of the things she taught me is: always leave a "room" or an area better then you found it when you got there.

Being in this new area is not a simple thing. We are working hard just to learn the area and find people to teach. Well, finding them isn’t hard. I can teach and commit almost any one to baptism. It’s just getting them to come to church as always. But unlike the stripling warriors, I have been doing this for a while and I have been trained to do what I need to do. So I need to quit looking at my cup as being half empty and start looking at my cup as over flowing. I need not fear for the lord is on my side, and doubt not because God will deliver. There are so many examples of stories in the Book of Mormon where some one has suffered with sickness, or being thrown in prison, and the Lord teaches them not to look at the bad side of things but to be positive and doubt not the lord.

This past week we worked really hard, but we didn’t have much to show for it. I know that this week will be better for us. We hopefully won’t have any illnesses or anything like that to slow us down. But everything is going so well right now. I have never felt better than the way I feel right now in my life. I know everything will be O.K. I hope all is well back in the cold! I can’t believe it’s a new month this week! I can’t really write how much I am thankful for everything that you have done for me. Thanks so much!
Love Elder Berry

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MAILING INFORMATION

braidbear@gmail.com

Mission Home
Elder Brady Todd Berry
Ghana Accra Mission
#6 Tenth Road
East Ridge
Accra, Ghana

Pouch
Elder Brady Berry
Ghana Accra Mission
P.O. Box 30150
Salt Lake City. UT 84130

dearelder.com
Sends letters to the pouch for free.

Packages
Elder Brady Todd Berry
Ghana Accra Mission
P.O. Box 2585-Main
Accra, Ghana
Phone: 233 30-265-0161

Use the flat rate priority envelope, tape the corners and sides. This way the envelope goes right to the mission and he does not have to pay anything to get it. It cost around 13 dollars to send.

Elder Berry's Current Location

Brady's Third Area - Odorkor Serving with Elder Wollenzien Second Area Brady's Second Area Served with Elder Farnes -Tema, population 209,000 (2005), is a city on the Atlantic Ocean coast, east of the capital city of Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, in Ghana, West Africa. Originally a small fishing village, it grew after the construction of a large harbour in 1961 and is now is the nation's largest sea port. It is also home to an oil refinery and is an important centre of manufacturing. It is linked to the capital by railway and a highway. Tema is one of Ghana's two deep seaports; Sekondi Takoradi is the other. Tema is also the only well planned city by Ghana's first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. But in recent times, the beauty of the city is being destroyed by overpopulation stemming mainly from rural-urban migration. Tema is also called the Harbour City because of the Harbour located in Tema. Brady's First Area Served with Elder Boatneg Konongo is a city located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The city serves as the capital of the Asante Akim North District. Konogo is about 33 miles from Kumasi, the regional capital. Ghanaian international footballer Sulley Muntari was born and raised in the city, as was percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah. Konongo was a gold mining town.[1]The underground mine shafts have not been used for a long time. The population of Konongo, Ghana is 32130 according to the GeoNames geographical database. The Gold mining town of Konongo has always been a lively town. It was a very boisterous town many decades before Ghana's independence. Indeed, it was the commercial capital of the Kumasi East Council which later became the Asante-Akyem District. The Gold mines that was owned by British companies attracted many nationalities from the West African Sub-Region as well as other ethnic groups from the... KonongoGold Mine Konongo Gold Mine is a suspended open pit mine in Ghana. It mainly produced gold. In Raw Materials Data you will find production data for gold for 6 years, between 1984 and 1992. It is controlled/owned by Signature Metals Ltd Konongo Gold Mine is just one of 26 000 entities to be found in Raw Materials Data, the mining industry's most extensive database.

Temple History

The announcement of the Accra Ghana Temple by President Gordon B. Hinckley came after he had challenged members to make a special effort to fellowship new converts to the Church. "Put your arms around them, make them feel at home. Teach them the doctrines of the kingdom. Befriend them and help them in every way possible," he said. "I make you a promise that if you will do that you will be blessed with a temple in your midst."1

The day of the announcement, at an outdoor gathering of some assembled members in Accra's Independence Square, President Hinckley said, "You've gone a long time without a temple. When I was here five years ago [as a member of the First Presidency], we tried to find a place to build a temple. We didn't find anything and we didn't say anything to anybody. But efforts Monday, February 16, were more fruitful. This morning we approved the purchase of a beautiful piece of ground," President Hinckley announced.2

Ground was broken on Friday, November 16, 2001. Intended to begin at 8:00 that morning, the ceremony was delayed 45 minutes while awaiting the arrival of the Vice President who had returned earlier that morning from New York and graciously accepted an invitation to attend. The combined Christiansborg and Lartebiorkoshie stake choir thrilled the waiting crowd with inspiring music. Upon his arrival, the ceremony commenced; and Elder Nelson gave the concluding remarks. Groundbreaking followed with participation by Elder Nelson, the Vice President, stake presidents, and other dignitaries. The event was covered by a local radio station and Ghana Television.3

Fifteen months after presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony for the Accra Ghana Temple, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles returned to the construction site while on assignment to Ghana and Nigeria in February 2003. Ghanian Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, who broke ground for the temple with Elder Nelson, met with the apostle in the Osu Castle. Elder Nelson says, "We have a very good relationship."4

One of the MM emailed this out and I was touched by it.

Elder Bednar learns about fasting in Africa

"A sister in Africa was teaching a class about fasting. Now, this was in a place in Africa where they're not starving but they're hungry most of the time. They would probably have about one meal a day as we understand it. This woman was teaching the sisters in Relief Society and she said, "Sisters, there are many days when we do not have food and we do not eat. That is not fasting. It's only fasting on a day when we have food and we can choose not to eat it."

At the time I was fifty-four years old, a member of the church since I was eight, and an apostle for two years. I had to go to Africa to learn from a woman who had joined the church just eight months earlier what it really meant to fast."

What a blessing it is for our sons to serve among these humble, faithful people!