Attitude Changes Everything

Posted on 8:29 AM by Elder Bergloff


Anyone who knows me knows that I am kind of a pessimist. Meaning that I don’t always look at the bright side of things, it’s pretty hard for me to look out my window and see rain and not be upset. On the other hand I have had many friends who are able to look at the bright side of things and when they see rain they think of the blessing that it is for us not to be in a drought.
Throughout these experiences in my life I sometimes just look at them, and in my mind I say, “Really.” You really think that?
As a missionary I have been grateful to meet so many wonderful people who have been able to teach me, through their example, about how attitude changes everything.
On December 22, 2011 Elder Bessey and I were driving to an appointment to one of the members homes of our congregation. On our way there we got a call from our Mission President informing us that we were going to be training a new missionary who would be part of our companionship. This missionary was going to be waiting for his visa and wouldn’t be here in the Pennsylvania area indefinitely.
After getting off the phone with the Mission President I started to think of all the problems this was going to create. What if this missionary didn’t want to be here and he was dragging his feet everywhere, what if he didn’t like the people we were teaching, and on and on I thought of these problems.
Then one week later me and Elder Bessey piled into the car and began our drive to the Mission Home to pick up the new missionary.

The new missionaries name was Elder Siebert. Elder Siebert is from Orem, Utah and was first assigned to go to Taiwan where he would speak Mandarin Chinese.
Elder Siebert was waiting for all of his paperwork to go through so that he could go to his mission in Taiwan.
Well my pessimistic thoughts were pretty much all wrong. Not only was Elder Siebert happy to be here, but felt that God had a work for him to do here in Philadelphia and that he would stay here for as long as the Lord wanted him to. He emulated the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants section 51:
        16. And I consecrate unto them this land for a little season, until I, the Lord, shall provide for them otherwise, and command them to go hence;
     17. And the hour and the day is not given unto them, wherefore let them act upon this land as for years, and this shall turn unto them for their good.
He truly treats every day like he is going to be here a year. Like I said at the beginning attitude truly changes everything. As his attitude was positive and happy, even though he wasn’t serving in the mission he was called, the Lord blessed him to love those he taught and to feel inner joy and peace in his circumstances.
Attitude changes everything. Even when we are in the worst of circumstances, if we look at life with positive eyes those circumstances suddenly become a whole lot better.

On Christmas Day...

Posted on 8:47 AM by Elder Bergloff

12:00 A.M. in the morning. I woke up to a terrible stomach ache. Just a couple hours before I had been happily eating and playing games. Now I felt like someone had just thrown a brick into my stomach. The stomach ache quickly progressed to nausea leaving me in the bathroom looking at the leftovers of the dinner. AKA a lot of vomiting. The whole experience, of basically losing my dinner and what felt like all the dinners I had eaten that week, left me exhausted and I ended up missing church the next day. Instead I ended up sleeping from noon that day to 6:30 the next morning. 
During this whole process, however I was able to do a lot of praying. I remember asking God to heal me, to take away the pain. As I said this my thoughts were turned to Christ who in the Garden of Gethsemane also asked His Father to take away the pain and discomfort.

Mark Chapter 14:
35. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cupfrom me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

As I thought on these things I thought of all the pain that He must have felt to truly take upon himself the sins of the world. 

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.

 Perhaps God sometimes allows us to feel a smigion of what His son felt as He was in that Garden and as He hung on the cross.
I believe with all my heart that God does love us and is there with us when we suffer and are in pain. 

 I love this poem because I think it truly shows our Saviors love for us and His role in our lives when we struggle.