90th week in Japan
5/1/2017
聖典 (The Scriptures)

To my family and friends,

For the new Doctrine of Christ challenge we have received from
President Welch, we have been asked to read 4 chapters a day from the
Book of Mormon. It has been such a blessing to see the difference
reading 4 chapters a day makes in our daily lives as missionaries. It
has been pretty easy until we have hit about halfway through second
Nephi. Isaiah is great, but unlike Nephi his words are not easily
understood by me.

Nephi has always been someone that I have looked up to growing up and
hearing stories about him as a young child in primary, but one
extremely important character in the Book of Mormon close to Nephi
that I didn't know much about was his younger brother Jacob. Jacob was
born amongst many afflictions in his days. However, his father Lehi
made him a great promise before Lehi passed away.

Lehi says, "Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou
knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine
afflictions for thy gain. Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and
thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be
spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art
redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast
beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto
men." (2 Nephi 2:2-3)

I do not know what age Jacob must have been at this time or how old
his brother Nephi was; however, I imagine that even at a young age
Jacob sought truth. I believe that Jacob, much like his older brother
Nephi, had great desires to know the mysteries of God. It is easy to
tell that Jacob had studied the word of God along with his brother
Nephi and they both taught powerfully through doing so. I believe that
these two brothers had a good relationship because they learned from
each other.
Nephi humbly says towards the end of his life, "And now I, Nephi, make
an end of my prophesying unto you, my beloved brethren. And I cannot
write but a few things, which I know must surely come to pass; neither
can I write but a few of the words of my brother Jacob." (2 Nephi
31:1).

Because of the loving bond between these two brothers they have been
able to "[prove] unto [their] people the truth of the coming of
Christ." (2 Nephi 11:4) I know that I have felt the truthfulness of
their words. Jesus Christ has come and he will come again. Let us, as
Nephi, "delighteth in the scriptures, and [let our] heart[s] ponder
them" continually (2 Nephi 4:15). "for they truly testify of Christ."
(Jacob 7:11)

Ponderizing scripture: 1 Nephi 10:19

Questions:

 When is the next transfer?

1. Tomorrow we will get transfer calls, but I am pretty certain that

both of us will be staying.

How often do you use a spoon or fork versus chopsticks there?

2. It depends on what you eat, but the majority of the time we either
use chopsticks or spoons.

What time do you think will be good to skype on Mother’s day May 14^th?

3. I am not sure yet. I might have to let you know next week. Probably
later at night for you if that's alright.

 In America we hear the national anthem a lot and are pretty patriotic.  Do you hear the Japanese national anthem a lot and are they pretty patriotic there?

4. I don't know if I have ever heard it. Maybe once or twice. They are
not as patriotic here.

 What is the average size family of the members of the church there?  What is the largest family size you have seen there?

5. Average is probably around 4-5. The largest I have seen is maybe 7-8 or so.

Now that you have read the Book of Mormon a few times, who would you say is your favorite example or story in the Book of Mormon?

6. That is a very tough question. I used to always say Abinadi if that
was asked, but I am starting to think maybe Jacob.

 How much diversity is there between the wealthy and poor there?  Or are most people on the same level financially?

7. Most people are pretty similar. There are some more wealthy people
and some people who are more poor, but I don't see a ton of run down
houses or really big houses here.

Elder Hirschi