Colorado

Preparing for the Lord to come again
March 31, 2014

This week I got sick and died but it's okay because the gospel is true and I read a lot while I was sick. Well, update on our family that's getting baptized! She was set on date to be baptized April 19th and the other day she was so excited she wanted to move it to the 5th!!!!!!!! We told her that we couldn't possibly teach her enough in that time so we settled on the 12th. I love being a missionary.

While I was sick I read a lot of things and found the coolest talk in the entire world. It's by Elder Holland and it's called "Preparing for the Second Coming" BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING!  Preparing for the Lord to come again. This missionary work stuff  isn't just for nothing. The Lord is truly coming again and He's coming soon and I'm so excited.  The talk was about how all of the great prophets and followers of Christ in the past have known about our day. They all lived in really hard circumstances and the gospel failed every time. Each time there was a prophet, it failed. Even when Jesus Christ came to earth, the Son of God, people still rejected it. But we live in a time when the Gospel has been restored and it's been prophesied that it WON'T FAIL.  Elder Holland was talking about those people in earlier times.  He said, "Great men and women in ages past were able to keep going, to keep testifying, to keep trying to do their best, not because they knew that they would succeed but because they knew that YOU would."  how powerful is that!  He said that God and all of the holy prophets are watching us because this is the greatest time that has been spoken of ever since the world began.  The hastening of the work is for the reason that our Savior is coming back to earth. It's time to strengthen our families and it's time to strengthen ourselves. We live in a day that is joyful and will end in victory. We are fighting a war where we already know who is going to win! Jesus Christ will prevail. Why wouldn't we want to fight that war?!  Elder Holland said that "we have a responsibility to prepare the Church of the Lamb of God to receive the Lamb of God- in PERSON, in triumphant glory, in His millennial role."

When you look at it like that, callings in the church become more important. Sharing the joy we have becomes more important. Serving others becomes important. Strengthening ourselves and preparing for eternal life becomes more important. Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home, and this life is the time to prepare for that.

The other day we were visiting a less active family. I was sitting there listening to them talk and I started feeling this overwhelming feeling that I needed to be bold with this family because they were important. I asked the dad what it would take for him to come back to church. He went into a spiel about how he thinks a lot of people at church are hypocrites. What came to my mind was this talk. I told him that he was needed at church. He was needed to come be a great leader in the church, to lead the youth and help them realize the blessings of the gospel. I told him that there was a shift going on in the church, and Heavenly Father is calling all of His children back to Him. Our calling as representatives of the Savior Jesus Christ is to build his kingdom here on earth in preparation for His coming. We are the ones designated to do this special work. I know what Elder Holland says is true and I'm so excited to see the prophet speak this weekend. WE HAVE A PROPHET TODAY! how exciting is it to think that he has the same power and authority as someone like Moses or another prophet in the past. We are so blessed to hear him speak to us so LISTEN! It will change your life. HAVE A GREAT WEEK