Dear Elders and Sisters,
I want you to know that you are greatly loved. You are loved so much by our Father in Heaven that He sent you to earth at this special time. He loved you so much that He arranged for you to have the gospel in your life. He loved you so much that He called you to serve a mission in one of the best places on earth. As I meet with you, pray for you and plan for you, my heart fills with love and gratitude for you.
As I am meeting with you and praying for you, I often have the strong feeling that you are in control of your destiny. You have the choice. The choice to become an amazing son or daughter of God is YOURS. It is not your parents, your past friends, your companions or your mission president who chooses. You choose.
In Doctrine and Covenants 121 we read, "For behold, there many are called but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?"
The question to ask myself is: "I know I have been called, but have I been CHOSEN?" To be chosen is to be selected by God to receive all of His blessings. To be chosen is to have the spirit with us and to become all that we can become.
To be chosen, we much choose God.
To be chosen, we must pay the price.
Elder James E. Faust said:
"My dear young friends, there is another great truth that you must learn. It is that everything has a price. There is a price to pay for success, fulfillment, accomplishment and joy. There are no freebies. If you don't pay the price that is needed for success, you will pay the price of failure. Preparation, work, study and service are required to achieve and and find happiness. Disobedience and lack of preparation carry a terrible price tag. As priesthood holders [and missionaries] of this church, part of the price we need to pay is living differently from the world. We are possessors and custodians of these commanding powers which can and do roll back the power of Satan on earth. With all my heart I urge you to please help us push back the world. We must stand against the wind. Sometimes we must be unpopular and simply say, "This is not right.""
Elders and Sisters, now is the time to choose God. Now is the time to pay the price--not just the price for our personal happiness--but the price for the eternal life of the people we teach. I invite you, and plead with you, to pay the price of "preparation, work, study and service." I invite you to pay the price of obedience and hard work. As you pay this price, the blessings will come. I promise that your heart and life and work will be filled with the blessings of the Lord as you pay the price.
Mahal ko po kayo,
President Creg Ostler