tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66466778062378192442024-02-20T00:03:30.635-08:00ColoradoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-19091981184084556042015-01-27T17:22:00.002-08:002016-01-30T10:08:06.429-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Home</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>January 27, 2015</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">HELLO CALIFOOOOORNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;">Hello! I just felt the need to close off my blog. As many of you know, I am home now back in California! And...I miss Colorado. :) It's hard to believe that it's over, but I have had a lot of time to reflect and really think about what I have learned. Everyone keeps telling me that I just need time to adjust, but I never knew what to do with that advice. The conclusion I've come to is that I need to adjust my life to fit who I want to be now, not just adjust back to where I was before. The enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is how I was carried through my mission. Looking back, I know that the Lord was with me every step of the way. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and I KNOW I could not have done this without Him. I am not that strong. For this reason, I also know that I will not be able to live the rest of my life without Him. The things accomplished this past year and a half was not once my doing. It was the work of the Lord. This is part of how I came to know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world. That says a lot about how much God loves us! (John 3:16) WATCH <a href="http://www.mormon.org/christmas)">THIS</a> VIDEO I want you all to know how much I have loved this opportunity I had to serve a mission. I will never forget the amazing experiences that God provided me this past year and a half. Please join with me as I attend church every week, read the scriptures, and pray every day. These are the things that keep us strong.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Lastly, our Savior Lives!!!! I cannot wait to apply what I've learned and become the wife and mother my God wants me to be. Missions are the best thing, and this gospel is the best thing. It provides all the answers we need. Daily. All the time. I LOVE GOD. Like I said... Christ lives! And because He lives, WE WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE AGAIN! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">IF YOU DONT WATCH ANY OF THE OTHERS JUST WATCH <a href="http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU041514694)http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/the-message-of-the-restoration-2">THIS ONE</a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">I LOVE MY MISSION!!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">I want you each to know that you are child of your God and that He loves you. Ponder this statement and you'll be amazed at who you really are and the potential you have. Never forget that He has a plan for every single one of us, and by living each day, we are progressing on a path. The Holy Spirit is able to quietly impress upon our minds and souls the things we need to do, the people we need to talk to, and the decisions we need to make. Each decision we make alters the course of our eternal life. As President Monson says, Decisions Determine Destiny. Even the smallest decision, that we think would only change our life a few degrees, can point us in a whole new direction. We need to learn to conform to God's will, and we will never stray off course. But the question we need to ask ourselves is, is it God's path? Or ours? This is an important question to reflect on as we go about our daily life. WATCH <a href="http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/wrong-roads)">THIS</a> TOO</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: medium;">bbyyyeee!</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-3472764373745293632015-01-13T16:31:00.000-08:002016-01-31T21:38:00.599-08:00<style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Christ Lives!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">January 12, 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay first off, I saw Elder Rusick and Elder Hansen at the meeting with Elder Bednar this week! oh my gosh it was crazy but really great to see them. it was cool because you really could see the light about them and it was like celestial Irvine/BYU! hahaha. I'm waiting for Elder Hansen to send me the picture! but YES we got to see Elder Bednar this week! It was an amazing experience. We learned a lot about learning by the Spirit and asking in faith. There's so much I could say that I learned but I'm too excited to write about the rest of the week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There have been so
many amazing experiences that have real</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ly helped me see my mission tie all
together and see the hand of the Lord in EVERYTHING! I was reading my journal
from this time last year, and I found that on January 11, 2014, I was able
to invite Brad to be </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">baptized. yesterday, January 11, 2015, I was able to
invite Brad to the temple. And he is so excited to go. It was such a powerful
experience, but I learned an important principle of the gospel at this time. I
learned about enduring to the end. if for some reason I wasn't able to endure
to the end of my mission, I would not have been able to see this miracle. If
something had happened and people didn't help Brad along the way, I wouldn't
have been able to see this miracle. it was so clear to me in these moments that
enduring to the end is so important, but it also teaches us that EACH of us are
so important in the work of the Lord. we all have such an important role to
play, and we cant let that go! we each are so important in others lives, so
that we can all make it to the finish line. I am so grateful that Heavenly
Father let me have this experience! I LOVE THE LORD!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another great thing
that happened this week was a baptism of an 8 yr old girl, a daughter of a
family that I got to know and teach last year! when I was here last year, this
wonderful family was just barely returning to church. and the dad has been
working on receiving the priesthood so that he could baptize his daughter this
weekend! and that's what happened! OH MY GOSH IT WAS THE BEST. we were
able to have a lesson with them this week before the baptism, and it
was so powerful. they have all grown so much and I could especially
see the light in the father's countenance. it was obvious that a worthy
priesthood holder now resided in their home. I was so grateful for
the opportunity to see their growth. they are amazing and on their
way to the temple to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. I
don't think this gospel, or this WEEK could have been better!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we were tracting
this Saturday, and we were doing a small survey that included questions
like 'do you believe in God', 'Jesus Christ', 'is a close strong
family important to you', 'how do you cope with a crisis in your life', etc. so
we were talking to this man, and when we were done with the survey, he was like
OKAY, your turn! haha and we were so confused! but he took our clipboard and
started asking us the questions. and I was so grateful for this opportunity! it
was funny to have to answer the questions that we were asking everyone else.
but what stuck out to me was when he asked "how do you cope with a crisis
in your life?". I answered, "I rely on my Savior Jesus Christ."
he paused and looked at me, and looked straight in my eyes and asked me
"what does that mean? how?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At first, I stumbled
over my words and I paused because I had to think about what that really meant.
because I knew I meant what I said, but I wanted to explain it well. after I
paused I started talking and told him that I think there are a lot of ways. one
of them is trusting Him. but what I really felt has really helped me rely on
the Lord is learning about Him .Reading about Him .Reading about His life, in
the Book of Mormon and in the Bible. trying to be more like Him. and asking for
forgiveness in prayer. Our Savior is perfect, and I think that we forget
sometimes how great that really is. Because He is perfect, we are able to rely
on His strength and draw from it. we are able to read the scriptures, and gain
a witness <b>for ourselves</b> that He is the Christ. He is the Son of the
Living God, and because of this knowledge, we can overcome anything. Our Savior
lived here and overcame everything. I testified to this man about the Book of
Mormon, and how it is a second witness of our Savior Jesus Christ. and through
that book, I have come to know Him in such a stronger way, and ive been able to
rely on the knowledge of His goodness from that book. That is why we invite all
to read it. To read it, and to ponder in your hearts the message it contains.
And then to pray and ask God if it is true. Because if it is, then we KNOW that
Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, and that THAT book can help us in so
many ways. It helps us know that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that this
church is the Lord's Kingdom once again on the earth. and it prepares us for
the Second Coming! Yes I just quoted everything from the introduction to the
Book of Mormon. but I just want you all to know, whoever you are- life long
member, or not even close to that, <i>read the Book of Mormon.</i> and then
read it again. and ask God if its true. because I know that if you do, you'll
gain a witness that it is true. This is Jesus Christ's gospel here again on the
earth, in its fullness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is because of these
truths that I am a missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. and I know of the truth of it, because of the things I've been able to
overcome and the happiness and fulfillment I find every day of my life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I Love my Savior and
Redeemer! I KNOW He Lives!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-26814756132915050742015-01-05T16:31:00.000-08:002016-01-31T21:33:22.551-08:00<style>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>I LOVE MY MISSION</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">January 5, 2015</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">HELLO EVERYONE I'M BACK IN THE WARD I STARTED IN AND I LOVE MY LIFE. I could not be happier. I am
with Sister Nicol, and I love being her companion! I'd send pictures but my
camera broke, so oh well. BUT I HAVE SO MANY GREAT THINGS TO REPORT. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">first, I love my
mission. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">second, our Savior
lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and third, I love my
mission. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Okay so our first day
in the orchard ward.. was..quite possibly the best day of my whole mission. but
then the next day was the best and the next day was the best. i have 100
stories floating through my mind right now, but I don't even know which one to
write about! it has seriously been the most miraculous 3 days of my whole
mission and life. I've never been so happy!!!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When we first got
here, I was terrified. I was so scared because I had hurt my back and I hadn't
been able to work for over 2 weeks and the ride over the mountain was really
rough. i was so excited to go back to my old ward, but so scared that I wouldn't
be able to be the missionary that i wanted to be because of my injury. but the
first day here, was amazing! we got to go to the rehab center that we used to
volunteer at and I saw the lady that had gotten baptized while I was gone, last July. when she saw me she burst into tears and gave me a big hug and just told
me how she never thought she would be able to see me again. She said that her
family owes sister Hilton and I everything, because we helped her get Sundays
off and start going to church and it changed her families life. I started to
get emotional and I hugged Jamie and I realized that Heavenly Father was
blessing me so much by allowing me to be in this area. I knew in that moment
that everything would be okay, and that this would be a transfer of miraculous
things. By that night, my back didn't hurt! and it hasn't since then! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are so many
stories that I could tell, but I don't have time!!! We are teaching people that
i found a year ago. i went back to a lady that i regretted not being more
bold with and invited her to return to activity in the church, and she said no
at first but then changed her mind and decided to come to church next Sunday
and pray to know if that's where she should be. I have taught 3 people that I found over a year ago - and asked two of them to be baptized! great seeds that
had been planted. I know that I was supposed to be sent back to this area. I know that God lives and loves us each so much. this week has been the biggest
testimony to me that God knows exactly the situation and plans he has for each
of us in the future, and He will do anything do get us to where we need to be. The biggest reason I think I am in this area is for this one lady I knew a year
ago, that hadn't left my mind since I left the area. We helped her get her
patriarchal blessing, and she was working towards the temple, but she has some
habits that are keeping her from getting there. I bore my heart and soul to
her, telling her the story of how I got there and how I knew I was there for
her. In tears, she said, I never thought I'd actually make it to the temple. but
now I know I can. So that is what she is working towards. We knelt down
together and prayed about a date that she'd be able to be worthy to go. When we
stood up, she marked an X on the calendar, and she knows she can make it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">EVERYONE, I love my
mission. I love it more than anything else I've ever done. I am so thankful for
this opportunity I have to serve. I love every time we get to share the gospel
with someone new, and testify of our Savior's goodness and strength. On Sunday,
while we took the sacrament, I had a very sacred experience where I felt God's
love and strength so strongly. I know that we will be able to help a lot of
people feel their Savior's love this transfer. I know that our Savior LIVES and that's why He's able to help us as He has helped me heal. I know I'm
supposed to be here and I love every minute of it. I am so grateful for the
Atonement and change. I know that I've changed a lot as a missionary since I've
been here, and there is a lot of unfinished business. but most importantly, I give all the glory to my Father in Heaven who has given me these wonderful
experiences. I love being an instrument in His hands and I am so thankful He
sent His son to this earth to die for us. With Him, anything is possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"when the student
is ready, the teacher appears."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">thats how it is with
missionary work! LOVE YOU GUYS! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I LOVE MY
MISSION!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-76164325773082762242014-12-31T07:40:00.000-08:002016-01-31T21:37:49.875-08:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Diligence and Patience</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 22, 2014</span><br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This week has been…super interesting! I've done..nothing. I
hurt my back really bad and I was not able to work for a week and a half. I had
to let myself heal, and there was no other way to do it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">At first I thought it was really frustrating because my goal
for this month was diligence, and when I hurt my back, I thought, how in the
WORLD is this teaching me diligence? I was expecting diligence in missionary
work but, Heavenly Father thought it was
better to teach me diligence in another way. I have learned to trust in God's
promises, and endure to the end. My faith has increased dramatically through
this experience. There was one point where I thought that I might have to go
home a few weeks early, and I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much this
devastated me. I seriously thought it was the end of the world, but then I
started to change my outlook, and remembered that I had received a priesthood
blessing- that gave me the gift of healing and of understanding of God's will
for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I started becoming more grateful for the things that I had,
like a wonderful companion, and I really was healing, even if it was slow. I
began to have even more fervent prayers with my Heavenly Father each night and
morning, pleading with Him to help me understand my trials. After I began to do
this, a new light came into my life. I understood more that I was learning patience,
and diligence, and that I really needed to take care of myself. So I stayed
with members throughout the week while my companion got to go out with some
other sisters. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">There was one night I was praying, and felt the deep
impression to pray that I could be healed by Sunday. I thought- at the rate I'm going, this might
not be really possible…but I felt the need to put my faith in it anyway. When
it got to Saturday night, my back was actually in one of the worst states it
had been in in a couple of days. So all the sisters were saying...well, looks
like you'll be down again tomorrow! and I just kept saying NO. TOMORROW IS THE
DAY I'LL BE HEALED. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So I went to bed that night really hurting, but really
asking my Heavenly Father for help. I knew that I wanted to serve Him and serve
the full time of my mission. I wanted to heal and serve the people around me.
Sunday came around, and I was really excited to take the Sacrament. I knew that
there was a special power in that ordinance, because it had been blessed by the
Priesthood. I knew that it could be as powerful as touching the clothes of
Jesus Christ, just as the lady did in the story in the New Testament- and she
was healed. As I took the Sacrament, I really felt my Savior's love and my
Heavenly Father's love. After a few talks and songs, I stood up to give my
talk. I felt so grateful for all of the blessings the Lord had given me. I
loved Him so much in that moment that I stood up at the pulpit. The Spirit
truly guided my talk that day, and when I sat down after I was finished, I sat
there and thought to myself, "my back doesn't hurt anymore." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I know that it was by the healing
power of our Savior Jesus Christ that I was able to be healed. but, what I
really want to show by this story is the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day
holy. I know how important it is to take the Sacrament every single week. We cannot
miss it. We need it, and our Spirit needs it. Our Heavenly Father will bless us
as we do so. I believe in Heavenly Father's timing, and although I cannot go
out and run a marathon right now, I know that I was significantly blessed by
the Sacrament and by His holy day yesterday. I am so thankful for this
commandment and I hope we can all strive to keep it. I hope we can always
continually look for more ways to consecrate ourselves on this day, because
that is how we can come to know our Savior in a more significant way. Please adopt this principle more fully in your
life at this time. I know that our Redeemer lives, and because of that, we can be instruments in His
hands each day. We become closer to His spirit each time we take the Sacrament,
and it can become an increasingly rewarding pattern in our lives as we strive
to more wholly keep the Sabbath Day Holy. I know this to be true, and I know
the Book of Mormon to be true, and I know this Gospel of Jesus Christ to be
true. I know it without any doubts, because by the sacred power and help of the
Holy Ghost, I feel of its truth every day of my life. I feel the power of His
message. I pray that we'll all have a Merry Christmas, and feel the love of our
Savior more fully! I love you all! and I love my Savior! AND MY MISSION!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-31705238210328667702014-12-23T18:41:00.003-08:002015-12-13T17:42:21.086-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>He is The Gift</b></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">December 8, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS WEEK. WAS THE BEST. ever. seriously. okay. so. I can't
get my thoughts together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week was sister's conference, where all sisters from
the surrounding areas in our stake come together and we have a bunch of
training. Sister Pearson and I were planning it for WEEKS. We had been trying
to figure it out, we had asked certain sisters to train on whatever they felt
inspired to, and we thought we had a theme in mind. We based it on the
scripture in <a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/50?lang=eng"><span style="color: red;">Doctrine and Covenants 50:24</span></a>, about light, and asked all of the
sisters to base their training on that scripture. Sister Pearson and I, for
our part, were planning on showing a couple of Mormon Messages, and we had it
all planned out. That morning, an hour before the conference, we both looked at
each other and felt exactly the same thing. We needed to scratch the whole
thing we had planned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We didn't know what we were going to do, we just knew we
needed to go by the Spirit. So we showed up at Sister's Conference and it was a
FIASCO. haha There was a sister who was getting calls about her health from the
doctors and was in tears, some sisters thought it was at 11:00 when it started at 10:00, and everything was just
crazy. Sister Pearson and I didn't know what to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Right now we sound like horrible Sister Training Leaders but
it's fine because it all worked out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We got up in front of everyone and just told them exactly
what had happened. Our original plan was to have them give their training,
then a musical number, then we would train. But we told them that we felt the
need to scratch the plan and do something else. We felt that a lot of sisters
didn't realize how much they really were progressing, so we all sat in a circle
and talked about progression and how Satan makes us think we are not going
anywhere in our missions or in our lives. We ended up training on "light",
and how when we add more light to our lives, we are continually being converted
and progressing towards being like our Savior. All of these talks and
scriptures just overwhelmingly came to us that we had studied during the week. The
Lord really directed our conversation, and the Spirit was so strong in that
room. There was just a feeling of GOODNESS there, and happiness from the
sisters. Next, we had all of the sisters give their training, and they all
related it to light PERFECTLY. It went
so smoothly and the Spirit was already so strong, we all learned a lot. We
really learned what our Savior wanted us to learn that day. We closed with a musical number, and we all
felt so at peace! It started rough but ended up being such a good meeting since
we got to hear from all of the sisters!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That was just the beginning of this great week! So as you
probably have heard, there is a new video on You Tube called <a href="http://www.mormon.org/christmas?gclid=Cj0KEQiAwuSkBRC7qKq8rr7796sBEiQA5VnSuMJlAl6jMB_avPj67iIgSF1JLvuReVaO7Q7Noh1u9B4aAk8_8P8HAQ&cid=99114268&s_kwcid=AL!3737!3!56954557215!p!!g!!he%20is%20the%20gift&ef_id=U-u9gAAABSyWNnZA:20141224024052:s" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">"He is the Gift"</span></a> about Christmas. We have been trying to share it with as many people
as possible, and we had challenged this family in our ward to invite someone
over next Sunday to eat with us and watch that video and hear a short Christmas
message. They accepted, but about a week into the challenge they still hadn't
been able to find anyone to bring!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On Saturday we were tracting, trying to hand out as many
"He is the Gift" pass along cards as possible. When we got out of the
car we saw a man across the street and I sprinted to give him a card. He didn't
really hear what I said and was like, "what?" so I just said ummmm,
here's a video we wanted to share with you! bye! (I'm so lame).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">BUT then, about 20 min later, we got a call from that family
I just mentioned that's supposed to be inviting someone to their house. The
husband was so excited. He said, "Sisters!
I have to tell you about this great missionary opportunity I had just now! There
was this man that walked by my house and he came up to me saying that this girl
just handed him a card, but ran away before he could tell her that he didn't
have internet to watch the video! So he told him, that's funny, they are coming
over to show us that video on and to eat dinner on Sunday! Do you and your wife
want to come?" HE SAID YES! So they successfully found someone to come to
dinner! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We thought this was the best experience of our lives at that
moment, but what I really learned from it was two things- that God is ALWAYS in
the details in our lives, and that if we set a goal, God helps us reach it. I
know that to be true. It's through our prayers that others are prompted to be
instruments in the Lord's hands. We weren't even planning on being in that area
on Saturday, but we had felt strongly to go to someone's house so we followed
it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love being a missionary, and I'm grateful for this calling
that I have at this time. I never want to give it up! It's just so real to me
that the Lord is in charge of this work, and I KNOW that He is my Savior. I
know that my Redeemer lives and I don't know what I'd do without this
knowledge. I really pray that we'll all be able to feel His influence and love
this Christmas. It really is such a special time of year and I'm so excited to
see what other miracles come. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father! I can
honestly say that I feel their love and influence and Spirit just
overwhelmingly each day for all the people we come in contact with. That's how I
know we are God's children. In the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-26926282215565625192014-12-23T18:07:00.004-08:002015-12-13T17:42:34.769-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Forgiveness is Necessary for Change</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">November 24, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wow! I have sooo much to say! Well, here I am again in Montrose!
It's great though, I love it here. I'm glad I get to stay everywhere
forever because I really like change,
and well, God is teaching me to love enduring to the end! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first thing that's on my mind is the HASTENING OF THE
WORK OF SALVATION OF GOD'S CHILDREN. I will gladly tell you what I mean by
that. If you didn't hear, the movie "Meet the Mormons" just came out
and it was wonderful and next month, the church is putting out a new video
called "He is the Gift"! and it's the best video of all time. There
will be a website, <a href="http://christmas.mormon.org/"><span style="color: blue;">christmas.mormon.org</span></a>, and I invite all of you to
check it out! We get to hand out pass along cards with that on it and we get to
share wonderful Christmas messages about Jesus Christ all month to remind
everyone about the true meaning of Christmas!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyway, so the big thing that has been on my mind is change
and forgiveness. I have the opportunity to give a talk about forgiveness next
week and I'm really excited. I've been trying to really pray about how and what
to talk about because it's such a big subject! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First, I was thinking about a training that sister Pearson
and I got to give on how Colorado Denver South is the BEST MISSION IN THE
WORLD! We had thirty minutes to convince our zone that that statement was true,
and I think it worked. haha. but one of the activities we did was we talked
about how much this mission has changed since we first came out and then we
talked about how much WE have changed since we've come out on a mission. We had
a few minutes to sit and write a letter to tell someone we love about how much
we have changed. Something hit me really hard as a wrote that! I was talking
about how I've learned so much about my Savior etc, but then I found myself
writing, "and I hope I can carry these changes home with me." that's
when I realized- what does it take for something to be carried with us forever
and through eternity? will the changes that I make now and throughout my whole
life carry through to the next life? have the changes been significant enough
that I'd do anything to keep them and keep living in the way God wants me to live?
All of these questions spun through my mind as I reflected on my mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Next I realized that only through Jesus Christ would it be
possible to make the changes necessary to receive a continuous conversion and
salvation. As God's children, we decide what changes we make and we decided
what to do with our lives here on earth. However without Jesus Christ, the
'extraordinary' would not be possible. In that moment, I was overcome with
gratitude for my Savior Jesus Christ. I was overcome with the feelings that I
just wanted to hold on to my relationship with Him as tight as I could. I never
wanted to lose it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So, what does this have to do with forgiveness? a lot. It
teaches us WHY forgiveness is necessary. Forgiveness is necessary in order to
change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Over the course of my mission, I have learned a lot of
things. There have been some of the happiest times, and also some of the
hardest times. I have made mistakes, and probably have not been the nicest
always, but there have also been times when I have been filled with love for
the people and devotion to the work. Sometimes relationships need mending, and
moments that need repenting. I personally have truly experienced the healing of
the Atonement. Sometimes we do things to cover up our mistakes, or our misdeeds.
We move on, thinking, it's okay- we will just never get along with a person or
its okay, they aren't really hurt by that comment. That is not true. The reason
I know that Jesus is the Christ is because of the opportunities He has given me
to forgive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This past week, someone had brought up an Elder that I probably
wasn't the nicest to. I thought everything he did was a joke, and I felt that
he had hurt more than he had done good. After this person brought him up, this
huge feeling of GUILT just washed over me. No, I had never really done anything
really mean to this elder. I maybe made some smart comments towards him, but
what I really had done was to be angry with him in my mind. I felt like he was
very distracting to other sisters and it really made me mad, but I felt like my feelings were justified
because of the harm he had done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the week went on, I felt worse and worse! I was amazed at
the opportunity that God was giving me to repent of this and to change my
attitude. I was amazed because really,
no one would ever know if I forgave this elder or not. He wouldn't know, the
other missionaries wouldn't know, but the fact was- I would know and that's
what mattered to Heavenly Father. I found myself pleading for forgiveness- I
wanted to change. I wanted to recognize every single person as a child of God
and I wanted to be better. Though this was not a huge sin, it was one of the
hardest repentance processes I ever had to go through. Probably because it was
something that we do most often…judge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was so grateful that I knew that through repenting, I
could be forgiven. It didn't have to bother me anymore. There really wasn't a
good reason that this elder bothered me. I know that through the Atonement of
Jesus Christ, I changed. I forgave him, but more importantly I forgave myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes, we think we don't have to change. We may be doing
well in life, and everything seems fine, but in reality, there is always
something to change. Something to repent of. That's why God has given us the
great miracle of sending His son to the earth to die for us, so that we could
overcome any challenge sent our way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hopefully you don't think my story is too dumb. I really am not that judgmental haha. But it
was really something that affected me and I learned more about my Savior Jesus
Christ because of it. I am grateful for every opportunity we have to forgive. I
hope you will all keep this in mind this Christmas season- and think, is there
anyone that God would want YOU to forgive? I would suggest that this would bring
the Spirit more abundantly into your life and give you a greater opportunity to
grow yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love my Savior so much and I love this gospel. I love you
all and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-86881742312376642952014-12-18T22:02:00.001-08:002016-01-25T17:28:37.134-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>I Know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">November 10, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This week had to be the most insane of my whole entire
mission and life, but I can honestly say that I've never learned more in my
life. I feel like I'm really dramatic every time I write these emails but I
really mean it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I prayed about what I should write this time and all that
came to my mind was "the first vision" and "your experience."
A lot of different stories could be told about what happened this week, but I
feel like I need to humbly tell you how I felt during it. I truly have come to
know the meaning of Ether 12:27 in the Book of Mormon which says:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I tell this story, I would just pray that the Spirit will convey to you how I truly feel about the Lord and about my mission and about this gospel. I wanted
to start by reciting the First Vision from Joseph Smith's experience when he
was called as a prophet to restore Jesus Christ's church today. When he humbly
asked in prayer to know which church to join and which church was closest to
Jesus Christ's church that had the full truth, and nothing but the truth, he
said, "I saw a pillar of light, exactly over my head, above the brightness
of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. when the light
rested upon me, I saw two personages, standing above me in the air. One of them
spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other, This is My
Beloved Son, Hear Him!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
want you all to know the greatness and glory of this experience. Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ CAME to Joseph Smith when he asked them a question in humble
prayer, which sparked one of the greatest times in history. The truth being
restored to the earth and to the children of God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This
is why I'm here as a missionary, because I know this is true. I know without a
doubt that this event happened! and that it is what brought forth the power and
way to be ETERNAL FAMILIES forever. Yes, people can say that they think they
are going to be with their families forever, but this gospel is what makes that
thought turn into <b>knowledge. </b>This
gospel and religion is more than a belief. It's not just a new church, or
something established to keep our lives in order. It's HERE because it's the
FULL TRUTH. It's not changed things, not new things, but <b>restored </b>truth
that we all once knew. It's the truth telling us that we can know the mysteries
of God here on earth. It's the truth telling us that we are going to be eternal
beings and we are important. It's the truth telling us the truth of ALL THINGS!
So much I can't even contain myself or fit it in this email! Oh, also Elder Rhoades of the seventy came this
week and in the middle of the fireside he asked me to come up and bear my
testimony and recite the first vision...I forgot part of it while I was up
there..so this email is me making up for it haha. embarrassing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Overall,
what I experienced this week was the truthfulness of the gospel. I can say I
know without a doubt that our Savior lives and loves us, which was so apparent
in the First Vision. The picture of the first vision is the perfect symbolism. <b><a href="https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/first-vision-1056664?lang=eng&category="><span style="color: blue;">https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/first-vision-1056664?lang=eng&category=</span></a>
</b>God is there to represent justice- He is a just God and we are accountable
for our actions. Jesus Christ is there to represent mercy- He is our advocate
and since He satisfied the demands of justice with the Atonement, he can apply
mercy, and Joseph Smith- showing that we have to use our agency to <b>search. </b>to
<b>ask. </b>to <b>plead.</b> to <b>pray. I</b> know that Joseph Smith is a
prophet of God!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
know that Heavenly Father answers prayers! I know that He literally hears every
word. Never doubt that. God gives us trials in general on earth so that we can
recognize our weakness and then with Him, become strong. I made it to my
breaking point this past week on my mission. I knew I was weak and I didnt
think I could come out of it. So much of my mission has been spent helping
sisters, and doing things that seem like things OTHER than missionary work and
it was making me so mad! because it really felt like it had broken me to a
point that I had never been broken before, but through this experience I was
able to learn that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are ONLY
in the service of our God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We
can all change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, even when we don't think
we can, or that others can or that we feel like we have before, but this time
it's 'not working' or that you have done everything for someone and they still
aren't changing. Never blame your circumstances- we can always change. I knew I
had to and that was the hardest part, but that is how we learn about our
Savior. I'm grateful for the change and growth we have to experience here on
earth. I know it's always possible. and that is how I know this gospel is true,
because I have learned that even the seemingly <i>impossible</i> is possible
with Christ. JESUS CHRIST LIVES!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-80998985852905703522014-11-30T21:16:00.003-08:002016-01-25T17:35:46.337-08:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>God's Commandments Make Us Free</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">November 3, 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">SO MANY GREAT THINGS TO REPORT. Well first off, sorry I
meant to change all those caps last week to lowercase but I ran out of time..I
stressed about it all week. Sorry everyone. Also, I'm companions with sister Patera
again! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sunday, we had so many miracles! The 15 year old girl that
we've been teaching had been wanting to be baptized, but wasn't exactly sure
yet. She wanted to learn more. We gave her the assignment to read 3 Nephi 11,
and as of Saturday, she hadn't done it. Then on Sunday she came up and said
that she had read it and WANTED TO BE BAPTIZED! as soon as possible! I could
have shouted for JOY it was the greatest thing to ever happen... besides the
fact that this other lady that we are teaching came up at church also and said
she prayed about the Word of Wisdom and she was more willing to give up
drinking! (last week she and her husband said they were drinking on Saturday no
matter what!) AND, another family that doesn't come very often came and stayed
for all three hours of church and the classes were PERFECT for them! I love
this gospel because it literally binds families together. I just love it so
much and I love seeing the progress of these people. Something that is common
among them all is that they are reading the scriptures more often than before.
That is SO important for our eternal progression! never stop! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I have learned SO much this week and I am really thankful
for it. Something I've been thinking a lot about is God's commandments. A lot
of people that we teach feel that God's commandments are hard, restrict them,
and they want to do other things. This scripture keeps coming to my mind:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 1pt none; padding: 0in;">Therefore,
O my son, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life
freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in
the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (Alma 42:27)<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We literally choose what we do in this life. We can choose
captivity and death (the devil's way, making our own choices) or happiness and
eternal life (the way of Christ, accepting God's will and changing, even when
it's hard.) We were teaching this couple
that I mentioned earlier (the wife who prayed about not drinking anymore) and
the Word of Wisdom came up, and they started getting somewhat agitated about
what they "couldn't do" and how they "didn't think it was that
bad." A girl that was with us explained it perfectly. She explained how
growing up, she was mad at her parents and she didn't want to do this
"Mormon thing." She didn't want to live the "Mormon way" or
anything like it, but what her mom said to her, changed her life. She said, don't
do it the Mormon way, do it God's way. If we are always asking God what we
should be doing in our lives, we will always be led and guided. So many people
think that the church has put so many restrictions on us, and all of these
different ideas. This is not the case.<b> </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I want to testify to you that it is <b>God's commandments
that make us free.</b> It is what brings
us happiness! seriously! So many people in the world are looking for
direction, and this is exactly what they are looking for. I am so thankful for
the Word of Wisdom and the opportunity to keep the Sabbath day Holy and the way
we are taught to read the scriptures and how God commands us to pray every day.
I am thankful for these things because it gives me confidence in my life. I
feel strong. I know where I'm going and what I'm doing. I have full faith that
if I'm going down the wrong path, God
will tell me. The reason I know all of this is because of my Savior Jesus
Christ. These commandments literally
unlock the Atonement for us because it allows us to CHANGE.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lastly, I am so thankful for the opportunity we all have to <i>change</i>
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This is all possible because of the Book
of Mormon and the Bible and all of the answers in it. I am so thankful for the
opportunity to live here on earth! and to live and love the gospel, just like
we did in the premortal life! and I LOVE MY FAMILY! The fact that we get to live with each other
for eternity is the greatest blessing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">We need to live like Christ is coming tomorrow. We all need
the urgency to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of what we have- the fullness
of the knowledge that we need at this present time! I am thankful for this
gospel and the knowledge and comfort it gives me and how it shows me my
weaknesses...I have a lot, but I can
change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ! Thank goodness!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Okay bye. Have a
great week!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I Don't Think I've Ever Been So Happy in My Life!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">November 4, 2013</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>SISTER HILTON AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER. I REPEAT SISTER HILTON AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER. in this glorious area of the Orchard Ward. We could not be happier. I am so excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Number one thing I learned this week. I am so scared to be old. We always volunteer in retirement homes and such and everyone is so bored and... old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am just so amazed at the Spirit and how much it helps in missionary work. we were going to visit one of our investigators last week and on our way there this name came to my mind and I was like WE NEED TO GO THERE NOW. So I turned quickly into their neighborhood because we almost passed it and we knocked on the door and they let us in! that never happens. only sometimes. We taught the restoration and of course that was the best thing. Every day is a testimony of miracles. Another day we were on our way to see another one of our investigators and when we pulled in front of their house, we prayed and really just didn't feel good about going there. Then sister Hilton and I both got the impression that we should go see someone else. It was perfect timing. When we showed up, every single belonging of theirs was on the front lawn. They were being evicted :( there was only one guy there so we waited for everyone to get back with a truck to move it all. So we helped move all of their stuff into the truck and into a storage unit. I was so thankful that we followed that impression to go there. After we finished moving everything from the front it started raining! The funny thing was no one ever questioned why or how we knew to come. We were just there. So if they ever think about it they might be really confused.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite was probably last night. This family in our ward invited their good family friends to be taught by us! We had such a fun dinner with them and then talked about the restoration. THE COOLEST THINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING THIS WEEK. I absolutely love teaching the restoration because if you think about it, IT IS THE BEST EVEN THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED IN HISTORY. we had Elder Baxter of the 70 come speak to us at zone conference and he talked about the scripture in D&C 1:17? I think its 17. but it says that God KNEW that there would be calamity and evil on the earth, so he called Joseph Smith as a prophet and gave him commandments. ITS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. I keep using caps cause im really excited about it. so when we taught this family, after we related the part about the First Vision, the husband goes, "oh, I believe that!" sometimes people say things and either 1. they don't know what they are saying really means or 2. I don't know how to respond because I'm so caught off guard and stoked. but it was the most amazing thing to hear the members bear their testimonies to their friends. it was the most powerful experience because they really meant every word! something else Elder Baxter said about this scripture was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ IS the answer to the evil in the world. it is the solution to the calamity and the questions of the soul. another time we were teaching these two people about the restoration and after we quoted Joseph Smith in his own words and showed them a picture, he goes, "that is SO cool. I've never heard anything like it." so after that happened I just want to tell everyone about it. I think I forget sometimes how unique our message is. I always just imagine if I were a missionary in Joseph Smith's time and how excited I would be to share the book of Mormon. the message is still the same today, and that gives me so much motivation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't think I've ever been so happy in my life. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-18439645047959002412014-11-24T20:09:00.001-08:002015-12-13T17:43:23.338-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>God's plan for us</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">October 27, 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have some strong feelings I want to share with you all
right now! This week has been one of the craziest weeks of my mission and I
feel drained, but I LOVE IT and I want to serve my Savior and Redeemer Jesus
Christ for the rest of my life. You want to know why? BECAUSE HE LOVES US. GOD
LOVES US and He has a plan for us! no matter what! and I'm sick of this
settling for less than we deserve! </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">All
of you who are reading this probably know me in some way, and no matter if you
are close family, or friends, or whoever you are, GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU and he
comprehends everything that is going on in your life! If something tragic
happens, he already knew that would happen and He's already placed things in
your life to help you out of it. If something great happens, God already knew
it would! HE KNOWS EVERYTHING AND WE CANT FORGET THAT. Sometimes we just need
to wait for God's promised blessings to come to pass, but the most important
thing for us to remember is that we are GOD's CHILDREN and He loves us.</span></span></div>
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I wanted to start off this letter with a portion of my email that I sent to one
of my best friends this week:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Before we lived here, we lived with God. As spirits. Not bodies. God has a body of
flesh and bone, but he is glorified. He is our literal father. He knows you
because you spent time with Him. In this time when we lived with God as
spirits, we were presented a plan. We wanted to become like our Heavenly Father
because he was so great and loving, and he had so many blessings and so much
knowledge and so much joy! But we couldn't do that unless we also received a
body and learned for ourselves. We were presented a plan by God that we could
go down to earth and receive a body. We shouted for joy. However there were two
plans: Satan wanted all of God's children to go down to earth and have no
ability to make choices, and then we would all return to live with God. The
second plan was that we'd be able to go down to earth, and receive a body and
be able to make choices, while being away from God's presence. We'd be able to
learn and grow and have our own families. Part of that though is that we'd make
mistakes, because we had to learn for ourselves. God knew us well enough to
know that we would make mistakes. So Jesus Christ stepped up and said I will be
their Savior. When they mess up, when they go through something hard, I will be there. I will be there to redeem
them from their sins and make them clean so they can come live with you again.
He wanted us to be able to learn and grow and change here on earth. So those
who decided to follow Jesus Christ's plan received bodies and got to come down
to earth! Those who followed Satan and didn't believe that Christ could do it,
didn't come down to earth and receive bodies. This means you chose Christ! You
knew Him before! And you knew this life was possible! You also learned that
it'd be hard, but keeping God's commandments would help you because you'd
receive blessings. This is just the beginning of our purpose here on earth. We
are meant to return to live with God, but only on conditions of change! We need
to change and learn and grow and that's what you're doing now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first and most important thing to remember is that GOD
LOVES US. That's not just a phrase! We lived with Him and knew Him and
understood him and talked to Him! Think about someone that you live with. Like,
your mom. Or dad. Or someone. And think about how well you know them because
you have been around them. THAT'S HOW WELL GOD KNOWS YOU. He literally knows
our personalities and what we need and who we need and what we need to do. This
is so real to me I think my heart could jump out of my chest. I sincerely hope
that you can all feel my love through this email because I KNOW THIS IS TRUE and
I feel just a small part of that love for you! and for the people I teach! and
for everyone that we come in contact with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So this is a story about someone that I taught this week. We
had only met him once, but a little background story. This man joined the church when he was 19. He
was very active in coming and learning and loving the gospel for many years,
and for some reason, over 20 years ago, he stopped coming. This is all we knew
about him at the beginning of our lesson. So we went into his house and started
with a prayer, and then pulled out a pamphlet about the Restoration of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. My companion started teaching, and then it came to be
my turn. and I couldn't speak. I literally could not open my mouth and I was
supposed to just tell him about families and how Jesus Christ blesses families!
but I couldn't. I just felt this OVERWHELMING feeling that I needed to say
something specific. So I sat there in silence for an uncomfortable amount of
time, and then just burst out and said "YOU ALREADY KNOW THIS IS TRUE!"
and he was like yeah, I do. This is really familiar territory for me. So I asked
"THEN WHAT KEEPS YOU FROM COMING TO CHURCH?" We talked and we bore our testimonies about
the church and he told us a wonderful story about how the Spirit has really
touched his life. The Spirit and love of God was SO strong in there, but I
still knew there was more that God wanted him to know. I felt so strongly that
he needed to come back to church now. That there would be something in his life
that he would need the full blessings of the gospel and he could not wait. and
that God loved him SO much. I sat there and just bore my SOUL to him and told
him that God had a specific plan for him and he needed to recognize it. I kept
feeling like I should ask him what was bothering him but I already felt kind of
crazy for bursting out earlier so I didn't ask for a while...but then I finally
did. He said nothing was bothering him. So
we asked him to say the closing prayer- and that's where the truth came out. He
thanked God for helping us recognize that <b>he needs help. </b>and that was just it- he needs help. We
all do. We all need prayer. I am impressed to tell you all that PRAYER is the
answer to everything. That is where truth is revealed. That is where we are
able to communicate with our Father in Heaven and ask Him what He has in store
for us. Ask Him what we can do in our lives to better serve Him. I want to bear
you my witness that this gospel is true and real. It's so true and real that I'm
going to turn to this man next to me who is wondering what I'm so passionately
typing about and tell him the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He lives
and so do we and I'm so thankful for it.
I sincerely love you all and hope you
make prayer a bigger part of your lives. I love God and the plan He has for us!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-36522643571614241072014-11-18T08:08:00.001-08:002015-12-13T17:43:35.626-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Charity - The Pure Love of Christ</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">October 16, 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This has been a great week! I am still in the same area and
I am loving it! My new companion, Sister Pearson, is the best ever, and we came
out to Colorado at the same time. It's cool to see how far we've come and even
though we haven't really served around each other, we've learned a lot of the
same things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lately our mission has been really pushing that we need to
be a completely obedient mission- and we want to be exactly obedient by
December 25th, so we can give it to Christ as a gift to Him! It's amazing to
see what happens when you involve Jesus Christ- because so much more is
possible. our whole mission is seeing a lift. As we work on this together, I
feel the Spirit so much more around every missionary! Things are changing that
we never thought possible. I can honestly say that I LOVE my mission! honestly!
We live in such a great place and we are all helping each other see the
consequences of our actions. p.s. I'm never leaving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">so every month I have a different Christlike attribute that
I am working on. It's kind of scary because every time I make one of these
goals I am tested literally to my limit on it. This month is Charity- the pure
love of our Savior Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am going to be really real about what I've been feeling,
because I feel like there is someone who can learn from my experience. I have
been reflecting a lot on what I've learned on my mission, and how I really want
to make sure that what I've learned is ingrained in me for the rest of my life.
I have realized the importance of not using sarcasm and negativity for humor,
and how much that helps me love others as Christ did. It wasn't until I started
noticing how much I say these sarcastic comments, even if I say I'm kidding,
that I realized how it takes away the Spirit and love of God from me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had really been struggling to love one particular person,
and I didn't know why, but what they did had truly affected me. As much as I
told myself that I had forgiven them, I knew that if I had to, I could not say
that I loved this person their face. i couldn't and I didn't want to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I started asking for my Heavenly Father's help to bless me
with the pure love of Christ. The second I asked, I knew that I was going to
have to change and do something about it. The next day, I was given the
opportunity to speak to this person. If you had told me a month ago that I'd
have to be in this position telling this person that I loved them, I would have
wanted to die, but I was able to stand there and tell them that I loved them,
and I truly felt it! I felt the Spirit wash over me and I knew that I had
forgiven them. I knew I needed to do this so I could focus on the work going on
around me and more fully feel the Spirit in my life. I didn't want to end my
mission and one day look back thinking, I wish I could have been closer to the
Spirit and loved people more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So my question to you is, can you honestly say that you love
everyone around you? When you make a sarcastic or negative comment, is it
because there is a memory there that bothers you? <b>This is the reason that we
have Jesus Christ</b>. He can help us overcome these feelings and emotions that
we have. It is because of my experience that I know that He lives and loves me
and loves everyone that I teach. I love that I'm able to tell them face to
face, every single person, that God and Christ love them. I know it's true
because of the feelings in my heart. I hope you all know that I love you and I
love my Savior Jesus Christ and I'd do anything to become more like Him. I know
this is His true Gospel restored to the earth, and I know that His prophet
leads and guides our church. I know it
because it is a reality in my life. I live and love God's plan, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-76360552246090814722014-10-07T09:24:00.004-07:002015-12-13T17:44:12.493-08:00<div style="display: inline; font-family: Calibri;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">October 6, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Conference was the best ever. I don't know what
I would do without the prophets guidance every six months! I wanted to proclaim
my testimony of prophets to everyone today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">As a missionary, I have the wonderful
opportunity to be a representative of our Savior Jesus Christ for 18 short
months. I am so thankful for this opportunity and as part of that calling, I
believe it is so important to share my feelings on the Prophet Thomas S.
Monson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know without a doubt that he is a prophet of
God. I know this for many reasons. This weekend, I was fasting for a really
specific answer and I know that the words that the prophets and apostles spoke
answered my questions. One of the greatest answers to my questions was that <b>we
need to make this gospel a priority. <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I know that if we make it a priority to go to
church, or to learn all we can about our Savior through the scriptures, the
Lord is bound to bless us. I know that Thomas S. Monson is called of God
because I prayed and asked God and He said yes. It was the most resounding yes
I've ever felt- and it gave me so much joy! to know that we are led by someone
who knows Jesus Christ so well. I look up to him so much and his example of
selfless service. He serves so much and I know that it affects me daily, especially
as a missionary. Without Thomas S. Monson being close to the Lord, I would not
be on a mission right now because of the age change that happened a couple of
years ago. I wouldn't be where I am, and I wouldn't have met the people that
I’ve met. I know that everything that has happened on my mission is inspired of
God and because of that, I know that President Monson is a prophet. I was
called by God to be here, through him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I also have come to know that he is a prophet
through the book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon invites us to 'test the word'. I
test it every day of my life. I know that I don’t have enough strength to be
here. I know that working all day like we do, and teaching as much as we do,
and still loving and serving our companions and wards, is not possible without
the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ. Every living soul needs His grace and He
is so willing to give it to us. We just have to ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I say these things in our Savior Jesus Christ's
name because I know that He lives and this is His living church. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-33489628667273616472014-09-21T16:55:00.002-07:002015-12-13T17:44:33.894-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>On the Lord's Errand</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 17, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week was amazing! We had Elder Lawrence of the Quorum
of the Seventy come and speak to us! It really helped me learn a lot about how
I could be more consecrated and love the Lord even more, which I really felt
like I needed. So on Sunday night, I got to drive down to Grand Junction and
sleep over with Sister TURNER AND SISTER HILTON! the best companions of all
time. It was a glorious day. The next day we got to go to Mission Leader
Council and Elder Lawrence had us council the whole time about mission rules
and what we needed to do better. We talked a lot about preparation day and how
we could use that more effectively, and some of the elders kind of piped up and
said "what about basketball!" and different things and Elder Lawrence
asked us, well are you here to play basketball or be a missionary? and it was
in that moment that it hit me. it is such a privilege to be a missionary and we
cannot waste any second that we have here. and yes, it can be hard but that's
how we get to know the Lord better. By being on His errand, and by being His
instrument. Our mission president pleaded with us to truly be the leaders of
the mission and administer the consequences of disobedience accordingly. I was
truly grateful for this counsel because I was looking for new goals to have-
how to be more consecrated and feel like I am progressing. I love my
mission!!!! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was something that was mentioned in our zone
conference that really struck me, and that was about the pre-mortal life and how we developed different talents there,
and we all have different talents! but what really stuck out to me was that
they talked about the talent of Spirituality! the definition of this talent is
the "ability to recognize truth, and then act on it." that is
something that i truly believe that my brother Brayden has, because he sees
things as they really are. However, it is how we act on it that truly helps us
develop our talent of spirituality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This past sacrament meeting I learned about temptation. For
some reason this topic was really interesting to me and I took a ton of notes. The
man who gave the talk said that sometimes, we just need to go back to the
basics! Sometimes we make things too complicated! and he brought us to the
scripture in Abraham 3:25:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="25"></a><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #2f393a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if
they will do <b>all things</b> whatsoever the Lord their God shall command
them;</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are down here on earth to prove that we can do what we
have been asked to do! When we were in the pre-mortal life, we heard about
God's plan for us. Jesus Christ, Jehovah, offered to perform the Atonement for
us so we could return to live with them. Satan had a different plan. We each
then had the opportunity to choose who we were going to follow. Those who
followed Jesus Christ came down to earth and got a body, and those who followed
Satan, did not. Satan lost the battle he wanted to win. But, he had a back-up
plan and that back-up plan was <i>temptation and opposition in all things.</i>
As it says in Abraham, we came to earth to see if we could do ALL things, but
with Satan involved, we would also be tempted in ALL things. Temptation is a
part of our daily life. But what the man talked about was how we could use our
temptation for good. Sometimes it's hard to overcome certain things, but that
temptation can become a compassionate warning voice, that we need to walk out
of whatever situation we are in. He said to imagine a huge exit sign above us
and imagine walking out of it. When we do this, the Holy Ghost will be by our
side to prompt us NO. Without temptation, we would not have the experiences
necessary to return to our God. So what I am saying is that temptation is
necessary, but Christ gave us a way to overcome it. Through him. We just need
to turn to Him, literally. He compared it to a magnet- when a two magnets are
stuck together, one is pulling it to the other. But when one magnet turns away
from the other, it literally repels it. We need to literally turn away from
sin. I am so thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ who provided us a way to be
healed and nurtured as we go through this process. This process is not always
easy, but it is worth it. It helps us develop our spiritual gifts- like the
talent of spirituality and recognizing truth. We all yearn for spiritual
things, and this is the way to get there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to end with my testimony of the Book of Mormon and
the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. There
is no question in my mind. I know it's real because I know that I recognize
truth in it. I also recognize truth in Joseph Smiths teachings. If you look at
the whole mosaic of his life, not just small individual experiences, you see
how much he was an instrument in the hand of God. I know God loves him and is
so thankful for his sacrifice. I also know that because he was a prophet, we
have a prophet today - Thomas S Monson who leads and guides this church in
Christ's name. Lastly, I know that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and I'm
thankful to have him by my side. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-11014383007953198602014-09-21T16:50:00.003-07:002015-12-13T17:44:59.310-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Satan Cannot Imitate Peace</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">September 8, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week I decided that I love my mission even more. I
really learned again about the importance of receiving and following promptings
that we get. This week we got to go on exchanges, and that night I really felt
like there was a companionship of sisters that needed to go on an emergency
exchange. I thought maybe we could just wait a week, or wait till the next day,
but as I prayed and asked what God
wanted, I felt a huge sense of urgency. We needed to do it that night. Sister
smith and I had planned on talking to three people before we went home that
night, and we had only talked to two. We had to run home so I could pack for
our exchange, but we really wanted to talk to one more person! We were going
down this street and no one was home and time was running out so we decided to run to the last house. We ran
over there and right when we got to the door, someone opened it and said, come
in! We ended up being able to teach them and they wanted to learn more! it was
quite a miracle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We went out the next day, but by dinner time a sister I was
on an exchange with wasn't feeling too
well so we stayed in that night. I
really felt like God was guiding me a lot because everything that I needed to
say was coming to my mind. I really felt like something big was going to happen
that night, but I also just felt the Spirit comforting me the whole time,
letting me know that it would work out. We ended up talking a lot that night,
and without going into too much detail, I helped this sister realize how much
her Heavenly Father loved her. She was not happy here, and as we talked about
her going home, it just felt peaceful. I told her that the only thing that
Satan cannot imitate is peace and there was a huge sense of peace that had come
over the room. It was amazing. I truly felt God's love for this sister and I
was so glad that God trusted me to be the one to help her realize that she had
completed her mission in His eyes. It was amazing to see the smile on her face
as she realized this and she said, "I think I got my answer." She is
so great. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So now Sister Patera, Sister Smith and I are covering both
wards and we are loving it. We are really good friends which is probably bad
and we have too much fun probably, but I'm so excited for the rest of this
transfer! Great things are happening. The
Spirit is so real and I'm so thankful for it!!! I seriously don't know what I
would do without it. I am so grateful that whenever we are not sure about a
decision, we can just make it and take it to God and He will let us know if it
is right. I love missionary work and I love being a missionary. It makes me
happier than I've ever been before. I'm so thankful for eternal families and
that I have such a great family to come home to!!! I love this gospel with all
my heart and I know it's true without a doubt especially the Bible and the Book
of Mormon. My faith in Christ has never been stronger. I love my Savior and
Redeemer with all my heart! I LOVE MY MISSION!!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Also, mom, I played the piano at a baptism and accompanied a
musical number and I almost died but it was okay. I can magically play hymns
now, it's great. At the beginning of my mission I couldn't play at all!!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-71102230518502148902014-08-30T20:17:00.002-07:002015-12-13T17:45:18.912-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Don't Run Faster Than You Have Strength</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">August 25, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">HELLO EVERYONE. I have been so busy I haven't really been
able to email for the past couple of weeks! but hey now I have a lot of
exciting updates and I love it and I have so much to say. I am staying here
again for another transfer! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So the reason this transfer has been so crazy is because we
had to go on a lot of exchanges with the sisters in this area. I feel like I haven't had a chance to breath. It
was probably the busiest I've ever been and the most tired I have ever been. Seriously,
at times I thought I was going to fall over and die because my BONES were so
tired. At times when a sister was sick
and I had to stay inside with her, I felt like I had lost all of my motivation.
I felt lost and that I had forgotten how to be a missionary because I hadn't
been able to teach in 2 weeks. Another
reason we were so busy was because we were planning a Sister's Conference. We didn't
get the inspiration we needed until a week before, so Sister Jones and I were
running around like insane women trying to get everything done. There were
times during this transfer that I did not think that I could stand up again, or
go on another exchange, or do another thing, but what I learned from this
transfer was more valuable than anything else. I learned about the enabling power
of our Savior Jesus Christ. As we were doing all of these things serving the
sisters around us, I knew that it was God's will for us to do it and to finish
this Sisters Conference. I knew without a doubt in my mind that He would
prepare a way. I always thought that the Atonement was just for our sins, and
that our Savior knew how we felt when we were sad, but He truly can give us
strength to do things that we could not do alone in our mortal bodies. Missionary
work requires all of your strength, for 16 hours a day. We literally do not
stop until then and I know that I could
not do that without my Savior Jesus Christ. When he needs us to do something,
we will be given the literal strength in our bodies to push through it. I have
learned that I need to take time for my own conversion and own well being, and
when I do that- when I fast, when I pray, when I read the scriptures- I learn
what is possible for me to do because I am learning the will of God. When we
know the will of our God, we know that anything He asks is possible. We just
need to know what He's asking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something else I learned was to trust in all of God's
promises. In the beginning of the transfer, we asked God what He wanted us to
do this transfer- and I got the distinct answer that we needed to find a single
woman to baptize. Throughout all of the busy things we had going on, our area
was pretty neglected and we weren't able to do much missionary work. We knew
God wanted us to find someone to come closer to their Savior through baptism in
the month of August- but by week 4 out of 6 we didn't have anyone we were
really teaching that was close to that point. But I knew that God had told us
that is what He wanted. So, one day, we were teaching this lady who had
recently come back to church and she had mentioned that she didn't think she
was ever confirmed with the Holy Ghost, because after she was baptized 40 years
ago, she never came back to church. WE FOUND OUT THAT SHE NEEDED TO BE
RE-BAPTIZED AND CONFIRMED! Could you imagine thinking you were a part of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for FORTY YEARS and you weren't
even receiving the blessings of baptism and the Holy Ghost!??!!? This Wednesday
is going to be the best day of this lady's life. I could not even believe that
this great blessing had fallen upon us. I knew that God was taking care of us
every step of the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the middle of the week, this lady had called us and
cancelled her baptism. Her family was not supportive and she would not be able
to go through with it, and would not even be able to come to church for a long
time because of it. I was so preoccupied with everything else going on that
truly, I didn't have time to think about it really. I knew that if God wanted
it to happen, it would. The Bishop ended up calling her and explaining the
scripture in Matthew 10 that says that Christ did not come to bring peace, but
a sword and everything clicked for her! Making
this right decision would not necessarily fix everything in her family, but she
would be strengthened enough to overcome this hardship and do what God's will
was for her. Knowing God's will can change our lives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something I struggled with during this transfer was feeling
like these problems with the sisters were never going to end, and we would not
be able to do what God wanted us to do. I felt like all of my strength had been
taken away from me, and I wasn't able to be myself, but I got to witness a
miracle in my own life at this time of sadness. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of
Christ's 12 apostles on the earth today, came to speak to us and he even said
my name!!! haha but he came to speak and before we went in the chapel to listen
to him speak, one of our leaders reminded us that sometime we need to slow down
our minds to the speed of the Spirit. our minds can be so preoccupied by the
world that we simply cannot be in tune with the Spirit. We had the opportunity
to read the scriptures for 45 minutes before we heard him speak, and this
scripture really stuck out to me... "Do not run faster than you have strength,
or labor more than you are able, but be diligent until the end. pray always, so
you can come off <b>conqueror</b>." </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">When we need to conquer different things in our lives, we
need to slow down to the speed of the Spirit and work how our Father in Heaven
would have us work. Sometimes we just need to stop and think, what would the
Lord tell me to do in this moment? This is something that really helped me. Whatever
we do to cultivate our faith, we need to do it consistently and that will give
us the motivation to repent. It will prepare us for our covenants. and most
importantly, that will help us endure to the end. "act upon this land as
if for years." (scripture from the D&C I forgot where) do everything
you're doing consistently, as if you would be doing it for years. It brings a
lot more joy into whatever you're doing and it completely changed my life. Being
grateful in all circumstances helps us battle our trials.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I truly know that Christ is our Savior and I know that
because I experienced His mercy and because of that, I feel like I can do
anything. I know he takes care of us because I experienced it firsthand as He
led us through these past weeks. I know He wants this lady to be baptized because
without Him, she would have fallen back into her old habits. After she told us
she was not going to be baptized, she picked up a cigarette to smoke, but then
decided she did not want to do it anymore. Angels surround us every single day.
I rejoice in the times that are hard because I know that our Savior is closer
to us. I know that He is teaching us what we need to know for heaven. Lastly,
this is all worth it because of experiences like these: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I got an email from a recent convert in my last area and it
brought me to tears knowing that this is God's work:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"My comprehension of death is so different now that I know
about the plan of salvation. It's crazy!! I'm more happy than confused for
people who pass. I know they finally get to see the truth.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Did I ever thank you for sharing the gospel to us????
Because it is the greatest gift EVER!!!!!! IT IS SO AMAZING AND I LOOOOVE
IT!!!!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Love you!!!!!! And miss you!!!!!!</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">PS- I finished the Book of Mormon. My faith and trust in God
is rock solid now. I now know without a single speck of doubt this gospel is
true."</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I could go on and on about how much I love this gospel. I loved
meeting one of the 12 apostles. I know without a doubt that He is an apostle of
the Lord and we got to hear His words just like the people of old got to hear
Peter's words, or John's word, or James' words. I know with all of my heart
that we know the plan of salvation and it <i>changes us</i> into who we need to
be. I know without a doubt that we are in the right place at the right time,
and we are chosen servants of our Lord and Savior. This is the true gospel and
I love it. I've never been so happy. I've never felt so excited to meet my God
and Savior one day and thank them for giving me this Gospel here on earth. I hope
you all have an opportunity to learn more about this gospel and experience all
of the blessings that flow from it daily. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the
truth and I know it because I feel it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-87396891617906465182014-07-23T15:21:00.001-07:002015-12-13T17:46:05.401-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Find Your Relationship with Christ</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 21, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hiking in Ouray, the
most beautiful place on earth, and Sister Smith and I getting lost in our jeep
in the mountains! </span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLsvDEEsy0Q0rZr9WB5NMD4FwNxqHcJpYWoYz085PFgxtscX5_24EUpd9fKE9Yu20zgigut5mD5PwytCodIZuIbd7NvJwfTU_nLeptR0pWW-tLVtMSnCF3uE4Kd8i_BUh-8H6adn-wVU/s1600/DSCF2307+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirLsvDEEsy0Q0rZr9WB5NMD4FwNxqHcJpYWoYz085PFgxtscX5_24EUpd9fKE9Yu20zgigut5mD5PwytCodIZuIbd7NvJwfTU_nLeptR0pWW-tLVtMSnCF3uE4Kd8i_BUh-8H6adn-wVU/s1600/DSCF2307+%25282%2529.jpg" width="240" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgRCzSrGUZhcrQIAaNIlBCngQQ5AX8tKBWiByr4ZzVXjDL_WFkpliSOsBKS_WH0aSo6wiPDx8XMCTvmPj8FH8W1g90V9ap-ON5mj5K2_h4gaeUSQz2-KTeJys4KVI0-dzGGS7kCvoww0/s1600/DSCF2299+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLgRCzSrGUZhcrQIAaNIlBCngQQ5AX8tKBWiByr4ZzVXjDL_WFkpliSOsBKS_WH0aSo6wiPDx8XMCTvmPj8FH8W1g90V9ap-ON5mj5K2_h4gaeUSQz2-KTeJys4KVI0-dzGGS7kCvoww0/s1600/DSCF2299+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am here in Montrose now with Sister Smith! It's crazy
because our ward is so huge and we are whitewashing and I got called as a new
sister leader trainer and my partner is SISTER JONES MY TRAINER WHO I LOVE
FOREVER. I'm excited to be here. It has been crazy this past week trying to
figure everything out, we can never find the houses we are looking for and
sometimes I forget I'm in Colorado! But it was a good week, trying to get to
know the ward and tracting a lot. There is one story in particular that is
sticking out to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So we were tracting and were about to leave, but we
decided to do one more house. So we did, and we met this man that wasn't too
interested in talking to us, but we got to know him a little bit and all of a
sudden this HUGE impression came to me that we needed to tell him simply that
God loved him. so much. So in the middle of the conversation, I said that I
just really felt like I needed to tell him that he was important and that God
loved him. Then he just broke down
CRYING! it was so unexpected and we kind of didn't know what to do. As he cried he just told us how he had lost
his wife last year and she was so faithful and he really drew on her faith. and
right before she died, she said, "God deceived me." and it broke his
heart and he didn't know what it meant, but his faith was completely shattered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> It was an amazing
experience to be able to tell him that we were representatives of our Savior
Jesus Christ and He did not want him to feel this way. We shared with him how
His church that He had established here on the earth had been restored with His
priesthood power, and that he could and would live with his wife again through being
sealed together for time and all eternity. This man appreciated what we said,
but it did not end up going anywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What stuck out to me was that we truly cannot rely on other
people's testimonies of our Savior for our whole lives. We need a relationship
of our own that we understand, and that we can grow and develop throughout our
lives, so that our faith is not shattered in the matter of minutes. Our Savior
Jesus Christ is unconquerable, and when we let Him into our lives, we are safe
from the world and our families are protected by His sacred power. I love Him
so much and I am so thankful that I get to be here sharing what He wants me to
share because it has strengthened my relationship with Him. I've never felt so
close to my Savior in my life and because of it, any challenge is worth it because
I get to know Him better. I truly challenge you to find your own relationship
with Christ! because He is our rock so that when the hard times come, we are
okay. We are strong and we feel it. I love Him so much, and I am so happy to be
here. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have a great week!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-52019441205902139172014-07-14T15:43:00.004-07:002015-12-13T17:47:11.572-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>All Things are Possible with Christ</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 14, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don't have any time this week! like 10 minutes! but I'm
getting transferred so don't send mail to the D 1/2 Road address! I'm so
excited! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Alsoooooo this weekend "M" was baptized! He has
been meeting with missionaries for over 16 years and it is so cool to see how
the gospel has completely changed his life. I love it. Sorry this is the worst
email ever... BUT I LOVE YOU ALL! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I guess I do have one thing to say. I was reading about
repentance this morning and it is so powerful. I know that the Atonement is
real because when you are willing to gain a new perspective on yourself and God
and give up whatever it is you're doing, you see miracles in your life. Repenting
can be as small as reading the scriptures every day or keeping the
commandments, or as big as asking for forgiveness for something you've done and
going through the repentance process. Whatever it is, it's possible because of
the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's possible because He died and </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">rose again.</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
That is a big part of the atonement that sometimes we forget about. Because he
rose again, and performed the greatest miracle of all time, we are able to do
all things with him on earth. A</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ll things are possible. I</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> know because I see it every day in my
life and I know that Christ is walking this path with me. He is walking with
you too. He loves you and I love you! </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-2174933269595121172014-07-14T15:37:00.002-07:002015-12-13T17:47:26.768-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>He Has a Plan For You</b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">July 7, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This was quite possibly the best weekend of my entire life.
LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL FAMILY (sorry picture not posted). THEY WERE MARRIED AND BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND. I
can't remember anything that happened this week except for this and I can't
think of anything to say except that I love my mission. Things could not be
better. On Sunday, "K" in this
picture- the mom- bore her testimony and I have never felt the spirit so
strongly. I have learned that listening to the Spirit is SO important. She
explained the whole story of how we found their family, and I'll share a little
bit of what she said. She said she had just finished reading the Bible and she didn't
know where to go next, she didn't know what to read next and a few days later,
we knocked on her door and introduced the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. She
said that she used to be one of those people who thought the LDS faith was
weird because she didn't understand, but just weeks after we started teaching
them, their life changed more than she ever imagined. Her health improved, and
their family was stronger than ever. She couldn't wait to see what else was in
store for them because they had seen so much already. She said she felt like
she finally belonged and that she would give up anything to serve her Heavenly
Father. Tears came to my eyes during this story because she was just GLOWING
with Jesus Christ's light. She was so happy and she had so much faith and
happiness radiating from her. The reason I started crying wasn't only because I
felt the Spirit so strong, but because I was SO thankful that Heavenly Father
had led us to this family. I felt so scared and my stomach turned inside me
because I thought of what would have happened if we didn't decide to go
tracting that day or to knock on their door or to follow the Spirit. Or even to
come on a mission. They would have still been lost, still living the life that
they were living, when they could have this overwhelming happiness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I now understand how important it is to listen to the Spirit
every single day and to plan effectively
so we can find the people that God has prepared. After sacrament meeting, a man
in our ward came up to me and thanked me for coming on a mission, because if I
hadn't, this family would probably still be searching. Tears came to my eyes
again because I was just so thankful that we had the opportunity to teach them.
I think back to that day that we found them- we had ten minutes before dinner
and NO ONE had been answering their doors, so we almost decided to just leave, but
we thought- let's do one more and this is who we found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I just know that every one of us is known by our Heavenly
Father and just like He planned perfectly for this family to find the gospel,
He has a plan for you. for us. for every single person on this earth and He
places people in our lives so that we can be led to the true happiness that He
wants us to feel here upon the earth. Missionary work is not easy by any means,
but it's the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. I am SO thankful I get to be
here and get to learn how to be a true instrument in my Heavenly Father's
hands. I am so thankful for my family, and I LOVE MY
MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-90949090936300358032014-07-08T08:47:00.003-07:002015-12-13T17:47:56.859-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><span style="font-size: large;">After the Trial of your Faith</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">June 30, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week has been the craziest week of my entire
mission!!!!!!! But I don't think I'll be able to explain it right! so when you're
reading it and going.. okay this isn't that crazy...just remember that I said
it was. or judge me for it. haha okay here we go!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So it started last Wednesday. We
woke up at 6:00 all excited to go to a miracle baptism that was at 7:00 in the
morning! I stepped out of the room to go to the bathroom..and I almost slipped!
There was a BUNCH of water all over the
entire floor of our apartment. We live(d), in a basement and there is a back entry way and before you come
into our house there is a small room that's in between outside and the actual
house, kind of like a mud room. So I looked out there and there was a literal
POOL out there. It was like 5 inches high and everything was floating! We were
so shocked and confused and all we could do was laugh because we didn't know
what to do! So in our panic mode we tried scooping the water out of the mud
room with buckets haha but we obviously didn't get very far. The housing
coordinators came over and they had us pack up and we left and moved out for
the time being! we went and studied at the 9th ward sisters house and got ready
there. That was the first event of the morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then we had district meeting. It was
all wonderful until one of the missionaries leaned over to me and asked if I
had heard about one of my previous companions. She was going home. I was
crushed and I started CRYING. I was so
confused because I didn't want to cry but I did! So that was great and
embarrassing, but I just was so sad that she had gone home after all we had
gone through. Then our district leader gave a training on the Atonement. He told
us that our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we
fall. When he said that, I knew that this was going to be the theme of the
week. He then went on and asked a sister in our district to tell the story of
what happened this week. She shared with us how her sister had cancer. She was
married and had four kids, and this sister was so sad. She felt like her sister
was being punished because <i>she</i> hadn't
been the best missionary she could have been. She described how she got a
blessing, and our district leader suggested that we have a district fast for
her and her sister. We all agreed. He then asked if there was anyone else we
should add to the list. It was really cool because then our district all gave
names and situations of close family members and friends. It was really
interesting to hear what all the missionaries were going through. I could not
believe it. The Spirit was just so strong in that meeting, especially as we
sang "Savior Redeemer of My Soul"
for the closing song. If you get a chance, read the lyrics here </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/savior-redeemer-of-my-soul?lang=eng" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">https://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/savior-redeemer-of-my-soul?lang=eng</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">.</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Spirit was so strong and I have never felt
so united with a district. The rest of the day we had to clean out the water
and dirt and all of our stuff out of our apartment. The 9th sisters helped, and
we moved!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That night, we started our fast. We
prayed individually for these missionaries and their families. It was one of
the most powerful fasts I have ever participated in. I knew that much power
would come from this fast. The next day, Thursday, as we were fasting, we got a
call from this sister who was struggling with her sister having cancer. The surgery was supposed to be 7 hours, and
she was supposed to have a speech impediment for the rest of her life as a
result of the surgery. Early in the morning, SHE called sister Murdock and said
that the surgery had only been an hour, it wasn't cancer anymore, and she could
talk perfectly! EVERYTHING WAS OKAY! This was such a big and great miracle that
we got to experience along with this wonderful family! I cannot even explain the joy that we felt
that day. It was truly amazing to be able to be bonded as a district like that.
Sometimes I think we forget that even though we are immersed in the work of
salvation every single day, we are important too. <i>We </i>are the work. I
knew that it was a powerful fast for all of these people and it would leave a
lasting impression on our souls. I will never forget that day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The next day was Friday. We were
going to teach this man that I have talked about before- the one who has been
meeting with missionaries for over 10 years! and his wife is a member. We went
to go teach him the law of chastity... BUT HE BROUGHT UP BAPTISM! He wanted to know what he had to do to get
there. So we read over the commandments and things he had to know- and he said
he had a problem with tithing. So we spent some time explaining the commandment
and the blessings of it, and he really just didn't see how it was going to
happen- money was tight already. I felt bad because I could feel the tension in
him rising, and I thought maybe he would put off baptism or something, but then
all of a sudden he was like... okay! and we were like... okay what? and he was
like I'll do it. I want to be baptized. and then we died because it was the
best moment ever. I couldn't be happier and more excited for him. He had truly
changed and I felt God's love for him stronger than ever before. I couldn't
believe the miracle that was sitting right in front of us. Heavenly Father had
prepared this moment for a long time! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then we had dinner with our favorite
investigator family that I talk about all the time and they are getting baptized this Saturday! At
dinner we planned to have their baptism interview the next morning and they
even got their white baptism clothes! It was all planned and great! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THEN CAME SUNDAY. Satan hit hard.
The man that we taught on Friday was devastated because of something that had
happened in his family, and he didn't know if this was the right time for
baptism. He thought he would maybe want to wait because he was just confused
and sad and didn't know what to do. He said he didn't even know why he was at
church because he was so sad. He was contemplating postponing. and then the
other family that I mentioned that we
had dinner with, they were crushed because they were having some huge
disagreements with their family, and there were some issues with where the
baptism could be. Everything seemed to be falling apart, and on top of that,
the Bishop had pulled us in and told us about a few things going on that completely
crushed us. I felt like Satan had taken my heart and squeezed it. He would not
let go. of anyone. But I knew that I needed to remember that the witness does
not come until after the trial of our faith. I knew that it would be okay, and
I needed to be patient and wait. If Heavenly Father had brought them this far,
He would not abandon them/us now. We would make it through, and so would they. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not even an hour later, both
families called us and told us that everything worked out and they were still
on for their baptisms. the family will be baptized this Saturday, and the other
man the next Saturday. It felt like a huge burden had literally FLOWN away. We
were so grateful, so happy and so relieved. It had been such a rollercoaster
all day. Yes, the problems are still there. but it's okay. We are all being
strengthened along the way. That is why we have Jesus Christ. Without His
strength, there is NO way we could do it. With our district united together,
and being strengthened at church, we really felt like an army. I know that
there is strength in numbers and in family. We need to do everything that we
can to endure to the end TOGETHER. Enduring to the end is the hardest part but
the most important. I know that we have been given the tools to do it <i>well</i>.
Enduring well is the best talent you can develop here on earth. I know that the
Savior was with us every step of the way. Alma 26:35 "Now have we not reason to
rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to
rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even
unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all
understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even
unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He understands everything that is
going on. He knew that these things would happen to us. Nothing is a surprise
to Him. He has all power, wisdom, and understanding. when I remembered that,
and read that he is a "merciful being", I knew we would be okay and
this would be the most miraculous last two weeks of this transfer. I am so
excited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We just need to endure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-50783576656313314432014-07-08T08:24:00.003-07:002015-12-13T17:48:21.150-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Be An Answer to Another's Prayer</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">June 23, 2014</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week was a whirlwind! I cannot believe all that
happened but I'm convinced that I want to stay on a mission forever and no one
can do anything about it. So we got a call from our assistants and they said
that president invited us to Denver for a special training because a couple of
people from Salt Lake were coming! So us and the 7th ward sisters dropped
everything and went to Denver for the next couple of days! When we got there we
found out we got to stay in a HOTEL! We didn't feel like missionaries because
what missionaries ever stay in a hotel? It was so fun though. AND I GOT TO BE
IN MY FIRST AREA AGAIN! I was so happy to just drive around there and I think
it was a small taste of what it would be like to come back home. it will be a great reunion. Then we spent the
next day being trained how to be better teachers and planners.. and oh my gosh
it changed our lives. In a good way though! We have so much to change and its
working already! the inspiration that has happened because of it is the best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So when we came back, we had the best weekend ever. We decided that we needed to act on every
prompting no matter what, because we figured that God was helping us more than
we knew, and we couldn't ignore the promptings anymore. So, Sunday morning, we
decided to do that. Before church we really felt like we should go leave a note
on one of our investigator's houses and after that all of a sudden I had the
BIGGEST prompting that we needed to go see one of our less active sisters. I didn't
know why- we had been teaching her for 5 months and we had even taught her the
night before and she refused to come to church. Every time we asked her, or
invited her to pray for the strength to do it, she said that it just wasn't her
time, but we went anyway . We showed up on her doorstep and said, hi! We wanted
to invite you to church today! and she said no, I'm not ready<span style="background: white;">! and she was like no way. Then we said "A",
we were prompted to come here and we know that Heavenly Father knows that today
is the day you are coming to church. She still said no. So we invited her to
pray about it. Then we saw her son in the background and we asked him if he
wanted to come to church with his mom today and he said.. sure! we asked him if
he knew where it was and he said no and then "A" I do! and we were like SWEET IT STARTS AT 11:30 WE
WILL SEE YOU THEN! Then we ran off her
porch and back to our car. THEN SHE
SHOWED UP TO CHURCH! for the first time in 5 months! YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The inspiring morning didn't
stop there. After that, the thought came to us to go visit this other less
active sister and invite her to church! So we went and she wasn't home, but
there was this lady frantically talking on the phone. We found out her baby was
having a seizure!!! We knew immediately that that is why we needed to be there.
So, we asked if we could do anything and she was just in tears and so we
decided to leave. But then something told me to turn around and we could NOT
leave until we said a prayer with them. We said a prayer with the son, and we
ended up finding out that they were members of the church- they were in the
spanish branch! so we were able to call the spanish missionaries and tell them
about it, and people in their ward could send help. If we hadn't been there, no
one would have know this happened! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Then we drove to the church and
we were late for our meeting but on our way in the parking lot, we saw this man
walking with his two kids and in my head the Spirit was like YOU NEED TO TALK
TO HIM. It wasn't even a question, I had to do it. So we got out of the car
after parking and ran after him down the street. Really quickly I said HI WERE
MISSIONARIES CAN WE COME SHARE A MESSAGE ABOUT JESUS CHRIST AND FAMILIES WITH
YOU and he was like YES! He looked so relieved. He said that he just got his
two kids back today and he just looked so happy. He gave us his name and
address and we got to pass it on! It was the perfect start to our Sunday!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">I learned this week that you
need to listen to every good thought or prompting that you have because that is how God speaks to us, we just
have to listen. Even if it seems like just a silly thought, or we don't
understand why- IT DOES NOT MATTER. just
do it. The Spirit speaks to us a lot, especially when we have the gift of the
Holy Ghost and are worthy to have it with us always. Everyone needs this gift,
it has changed my life! When God prompts us to do things, it is always to serve
others in some sort of way. This is how prayers are answered. Be an answer to
someone's prayers this week! go and do! </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">This just shows me that Jesus
Christ is the head of this work. Man is not. Yes, man runs the church here on
earth, but it is truly Jesus Christ who is directing this work. I know this is
true because I experience it every single day. Ordinances such as baptism,
confirmation, and taking the sacrament WEEKLY are essential for our lives. Strive
every way you can to have this in your life. It's how you get to know your
Savior Jesus Christ and come unto Him when you don't know any other way. This
gospel is amazing because it is healing and inspiring. It mends families and it
mends our Spirits. It brings us on the path back to our Heavenly Father with
our families. What is better than that! Now is the time to act, because Jesus
Christ is hastening His work and preparing families to hear this restored
gospel that will change their lives! Find it now! We have a prophet who leads
and guides Jesus Christ's church under the direction of Him. I am so thankful
for Him and His words!</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Read this article:</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng"><span style="color: blue;">https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/love-the-essence-of-the-gospel?lang=eng</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">and you will know that Thomas
S. Monson is a prophet. It is so important to develop our own testimonies of
our living prophet, because he holds the same power as the prophets of old! This
is truly the Church of Jesus Christ restored on the earth today and I love
being a part of it and living it every single day of my life. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-30152251419924555802014-06-19T17:01:00.001-07:002015-12-13T17:49:59.598-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ</b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 16, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Okay I won't say it...BUT THIS WEEK WE TAUGHT 35 LESSONS AND
FOUND 11 NEW PEOPLE TO TEACH. (the best week ever? what?) I HAVE NEVER TAUGHT
THAT MUCH IN MY LIFE! I have also never seen so many miracles in my life. I got
to tell so many people about the Book of Mormon and teach people that I never
thought I would and we found so many FAMILIES TO TEACH! I have never been so
excited about the Book of Mormon. It's so special and so needed! We explained
it to everyone like this: if you have a street sign with one nail, it can turn
around a bunch of different ways. But if you have a second nail on the bottom,
it secures it in place and keeps it strong. This is like the Bible and the Book
of Mormon! The Bible is NEEDED because it's the last three years of Jesus Christ's
life, and what is better than that?! nothing! but if you put the Book of Mormon
with it, then it just secures that testimony of Jesus Christ and adds that
extra witness that we need to solidify our lives and point us in the right
direction just like a street sign does. I thought that made total sense! It
simply strengthens the Bible. Having a literal record of Jesus Christ in the Americas
is the most amazing thing. WE TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED. Does anyone realize what
we truly have? It is not just a story written by Joseph Smith that tells us
that we have to have 6 kids to get to heaven! (that's what someone told us this
week.) The Book of Mormon is ANOTHER TESTAMENT of JESUS CHRIST ministering to
the people in the Americas. It's an ANCIENT RECORD of prophets bearing
testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ and bearing witness of His divinity. Why wouldn't
we want that in our lives? It is <i>more</i> scripture written by ancient
prophets like the Bible, <i>revealed</i> to us by God <i>now</i>. WE NEED TO
TELL EVERYONE! The Book of Mormon is something to solidify our testimony of Christ
and it shares with us His full gospel to bring us full joy and to bring our
families closer together in purpose and goal! to live together for eternity! The
Book of Mormon shows us the path to take to get to eternity with God and Jesus Christ
with our families. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We have seen so many cool things happen, but there is one in
particular that I want to share. A long time ago (like 5 months ago when I
first got here) I told a story of Sister Winkelman and I tracting into this
lady who's mom had just passed away. When we knocked on the door and asked to
pray with her, she burst into tears and we had a really special few minutes
with her where we got to tell her where her mom was and that she was okay and
that God loved her. She just couldn't believe that we had shown up at that time
and little did she know, we were all the way across town and were inspired to
go specifically to her street! but anyway, we had gone by and tried to visit
her a few times after that but it never worked out. So the other day, we were
around her neighborhood and I was driving and all of a sudden I thought of her
and I immediately started towards her house. When we pulled up, she was outside
and as I got out of the car she was looking at us like who the heck is that!?
haha but as I walked up to her she said, "I REMEMBER YOU!" and she
gave me a big hug and said, oh my gosh you were the one that came before with
the other sister and just offered to pray with me! I always wondered how you
guys knew, it just seemed so inspired and I have told EVERYONE about it! but really she told everyone. her neighbors,
friends, family, everyone. she was so touched that we just wanted to pray with
her and made her feel so much better the day after her mom died. I was so happy
to be reunited with this lady! She made me so happy! As we were talking she
just stopped and said, "I often wonder what the purpose of life is. Do you
know what the purpose of life is? Why am I here? Sometimes I feel like I should
be doing something but I don't know what it is!" then i died. YES WE KNOW THE ANSWER! We told
her we would LOVE to tell her more about it, and we were just overjoyed. We had
to get going right then, but we set up a time to come back and see her. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Heavenly Father knows what he's doing. He knew that she
needed us that day and because of that, we get to teach her about this great
plan of happiness. He sent us there. Going back to what I said in the
beginning, I love the Bible and the Book of Mormon together because it answers
all of the great questions of the soul.
If you need to know what the purpose of life is? it's in there. how to
help your family become closer? it's in the book of Mormon. how to share the
gospel with others? it's in the book of Mormon. how to make an important
decision in your life? it's in the book of Mormon. what to do when all else
fails in your life and you feel stuck? it's in the book of Mormon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I want to bear my testimony of the divinity of the Book of Mormon!
It's the best book in the entire world because it is straight from God, and it
helps me know the plan God has for me through Jesus Christ. But the ONLY way
you can know is by reading it. I can tell you all I want how great it is but
until YOU read it and pray and ask God if it's true, you cannot say it is not
true. I love the Book of Mormon because it's changed my life. It is something
that I could never live without because it holds a power that nothing else in
this world has. It has the words of our Savior Jesus Christ. and that is what
is most precious to me. I love it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-38166678297468384772014-06-16T21:07:00.001-07:002015-12-13T17:50:42.832-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="background: rgb(249, 246, 237); color: #2f393a; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Families are Eternal</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: rgb(249, 246, 237); color: #2f393a; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">June 9, 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F9F6ED; color: #2f393a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background: #F9F6ED; color: #2f393a; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">D& C 128:19 "Now, what do we hear in the gospel
which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and
a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of
gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good
things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth!..."</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">THIS SCRIPTURE DESCRIBES THE GOSPEL AND WHAT IT DOES. I have
a new companion! Sister Loertscher! yeaaaaah! We have had the BEST WEEK OF ALL
TIME. I'm not kidding. Like the best week of my entire mission. I may have said
this before but, I MEAN IT NOW. If you're going to believe me one time, make
this that time because we have seen more miracles this week than I have my
entire mission. I love Sister Loertscher! She's been out three months and came
from Glenwood Springs to here. She's allergic to watermelon and if she touches
it I have to epi-pen her. I don't think she should trust me with that. She's
also allergic to chocolate but eats it anyway because she likes it. We enjoy
each other. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We taught the most lessons we've ever taught in this area! Lessons
just came out of</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">nowhere and all of a sudden people started progressing! So I
am going to tell you of some of the miracles. But, before I do, I just want to
talk about the divinity of this calling and of this church. I know that it's
true because I have literally seen people's lives and marriages change in even
just one week from adopting a commandment into their life and into their home.
Like the word of wisdom changed this one family's life in 3 days because they
followed it! And now their marriage is better than ever before! and another
family's life.. they read the Book of Mormon every single day and they know it's
true and they have come closer in their marriage too and they are working
towards getting the priesthood in their home! I just KNOW that the church is
important because it puts you and your husband on the same page. You become one
in <b>purpose</b> and THAT is the most amazing thing to see. This gospel isn't
just something that MIGHT change your life, but it WILL because FAMILIES ARE
ETERNAL and JESUS CHRIST is the head of this church. and nothing else matters. That
is why this church is so divine and being a missionary is such a divine
calling. We are called to help people get to know Christ so that He can change
their lives. WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN THAT!? IF YOU CAN'T TELL I LOVE LIFE RIGHT
NOW. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Okay, so the man I talked about last week that made a HUGE
change and used to be sad and stare out the window and now feels the Spirit in
our lessons. HE CAME TO CHURCH. YOU HAVE
TO UNDERSTAND HOW BIG OF A MIRACLE THIS IS. He has been taught by missionaries
for TEN YEARS and he has NEVER, ever ever ever EVER COME TO SACRAMENT MEETING!
but he came on Sunday… and I died. and I got to sit next to him. I think
yesterday was the best day of my life. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another miracle was we were tracting and we found a lady. She
was really nice to us and talked to us at the door and then towards the end she
told us that she is a member of the church but just fell away but WANTS us to
come back and teach her and she wants to come to church and she wants to go
back to the temple to be sealed with her husband! She was so ready for us it
was unbelievable! It was perfect timing.
Also the lady that lives with her agreed to sit in our lessons so we get to
teach her too! I love tracting. I really. love. tracting. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the best miracle of all time. Oh my gosh I hope my
words can describe it well. The family we're teaching, the ones I always talk
about, are doing SO WELL! We got to teach just "K" this week and it was the
best. She was telling us how her health has been improving a lot and she is so
amazed. And then it hit me. A few lessons back, like the first few times that
we taught them- I promised her something. This is where I learned the divinity of my
calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. I had promised her that if she
read the Book of Mormon every single day, her health would improve. She would
find motivation in her life and she would know that it's true. The fulfilling
of that promise was sitting right in front of me. She, in fact, had read the Book
of Mormon every day and her health improved. and she knew it was true
"without a doubt in her heart." </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In that moment, I asked her if she had remembered what I had
promised her that night. She said she couldn't remember exactly what I said,
but she would never forget how she felt. I then told her what I had promised
her. Tears started streaming down her face because she remembered. It finally
clicked. Everything that we had been teaching was true.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I just want to bear my testimony that I KNOW that this is
Jesus Christ's errand that I'm on. I'm not here for me in any way. I'm here so
that these families can grow closer to their Savior Jesus Christ and be with
Him for eternity, and so that the people around me can experience His love. I
cannot believe the miracles that I've seen. I truly feel like I have gotten to
know my Savior even more this past week, and I cannot wait to meet Him one day.
I know that He is <b>my </b>Savior and I honestly don't know what I'd do
without that knowledge. I love this gospel more than anything and I'm so
thankful for my family and I want them to know that. I'm so thankful for
everything that they've done for me. I want them to know how special they are. Each
one of them individually is so great in the sight of God and they have so much
potential to do great things in their life, even more than they already have. I
know that they are special. I know they each have their divine missions here on
earth and I'm so thankful I get to be in their lives. I know we knew each other before this life
and we agreed to come down here and make this earth experience the darn best
earth experience we could <i>together</i>.
I love you guys so much and I don't know what I'd do without you. I'm
glad we get to live together for eternity. I love you and can't wait to see you
again one day. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you would like to receive a free Book of Mormon, visit<a href="http://www.mormon.org/free-book-of-mormon" target="_blank"> Mormon.org.</a></span></b></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-52446909615612732502014-06-03T07:29:00.000-07:002015-12-13T17:51:07.451-08:00<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cast About Your Eyes and Be Healed</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 2, 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">SO MANY THINGS HAVE HAPPENED! First,
I'm staying in Grand Junction another transfer! Sister Winkelman is being
transferred and we will find out where tomorrow and I'll get a new companion! Missions
are excittinngggggggggggggg!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before I tell you all of the stories that happened this
week, I want to share something about Jesus Christ and faith that I learned. So
many times we hear about 'having faith in Jesus Christ', but how do you start
that? How do you get that seed of faith
to begin with? When you feel lost and don't know what to do, how do you even begin to find your Savior? How
do you begin the healing process?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In Alma 33:19 it compared it to Moses, when He told the
people that if they looked upon the serpent they would live. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="19"></a>"Behold,
he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the
wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and
live." so those that looked upon it, lived. But there were some who's
hearts were hardened, and they would not look" Maybe they didn't
understand because they were distracted by things in their life other than what
was truly important. Their focus wasn't where it should be. They didn't know
God. They didn't have an eternal
perspective. "But few understood the meaning of those things, and this
because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so
hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they
would not look is because<i> they did not believe that it would heal them</i>."
it's when I read this that I understood how it related to finding faith in
Jesus Christ. All we have to do is look for Him, and we will be healed. BELIEVE
that Jesus Christ will heal you, redeem you, walk with you, help you. Sometimes
life can seem overwhelming and complicated, but it's when we "merely cast
about our eyes" that we are healed. All we have to do is look for our Savior Jesus
Christ and believe that He died for us, and that He was truly resurrected and
we will be also one day. Jesus Christ is in everything. He is all around us, in
our wonderful families, in the beautiful creations outside, in the Spirit that
we feel at church, in our friends, in our talents, and in so much more. Stop
and think about where Jesus Christ is in your life, and write down one thing
where you know He is in your life! </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting
about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would
ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not
cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week INDICA WAS BAPTIZED!!!!! It
was such a special experience because we have been working with her since we
got here. I don't even know how to begin to tell you how special this girl is!
She is only 11, but she has an
understanding of the gospel that is so rare. She truly is blessed with the gift
of having faith in her Savior. When she was baptized, Heavenly Father's love
just filled the room! It was so clear to me that her Heavenly Father knew her
perfectly and was just so happy on this day! She is the perfect example of just
looking for Christ in her life. she recognizes it everywhere. My favorite thing
is when she prays- she always says thank you for all of our blessings,
especially the ones that go unnoticed. I LOVE HER TO DEATH!!!!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There was one lesson yesterday that
stuck out to me that I wanted to share. We have been teaching this lady's
husband for a few months now, and the first several lessons he would just frown
and stare out the window. He has been
taught by missionaries for like 5 years. He wouldn't really listen and didn't
like when we asked him questions. But yesterday we saw the biggest miracle in
the entire world! It was sister Winkelman's last lesson with him and we just
bore our testimonies to him of how much he is loved. I have never felt so
strongly that Heavenly Father had a plan for someone. Heavenly Father planned
for us to be here, and it was prepared from the pre-mortal life that we would
find him and touch his heart. He was brought to tears when we told him this and
he said that he knew the truth! The Spirit was so strong and I know that I say
that a lot but I wish you could just feel how REAL it is. I never want to give
up being a missionary because of the experiences we have every day. I know without a doubt Christ was in our midst
that day as we taught Him. He was such a changed man and I know without a doubt
that Spirit softens any heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We also got to teach our favorite family this week, the one
that we talk about every week. I think I always talk about the "best
lesson" we had with them, but I swear THIS was the best lesson! I don't
even know how to describe it in words! so I won't. but I'll tell you about the
closing prayer that "B" gave at the end. I don't remember it word for word
but this is what I do remember: </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Dear Lord, thank you for
sending Sisters Gregerson and Winkelman to "K" and I. I am so thankful for what
they have brought to us. I am so excited for this "beginning of an end",
where we get to start on our path to salvation. They have shown me a spiritual
world that frankly, I didn't think existed. I'm thankful that I've gotten to
learn about this religion that I hadn't heard of until 2 months ago. I'm
thankful for you sending the Barney family to me, because they are an example
of how I want to raise my family. Even though I was skeptical of this at first,
and even though I </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">haven't read much of
the Book of Mormon yet, they have won me over and I feel I have found the
truth. In the name of Christ, amen."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the truth. Hard times are coming. Following Jesus
Christ will carry us through. The hastening of the work is not happening for no
reason. It's happening because this is the last dispensation that was opened by
the prophet Joseph Smith. It was prophesied that this would happen. We live
here now because we were prepared in the pre-mortal world to come and fight for
Christ now. We are strong enough to do it. I love my Savior so much and I love
the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church restored. It is true. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-18299365983681432652014-05-26T20:31:00.001-07:002015-12-13T17:51:37.716-08:00<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Personal Conversion</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 25, 2014</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Let us cheerfully do all
things that lie in our power, and then may we stand still with the utmost
assurance." D&C 123:17<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This was my theme for the week! I have been thinking a lot
about how to find more joy even during trial, because that can be the hardest
thing sometimes. We had to stay inside for a lot of the week because of Sister
W's sickness so I had a lot of time to reflect on......everything. haha So I
thought a lot about personal conversion and how to make that a part of my life
forever. I was looking back at my notes from past trainings and this is what I
found and I felt really impressed to share it today! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These are four things that we can do to measure our progress
with the gospel and how converted we are to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So as I
list them, I just invite you to take a minute and think about each one for
yourself and where you stand in your personal conversion!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">1. The
capacity to have meaningful prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week we heard a really sincere prayer with our
investigators that I have been talking about- our favorite couple ever. At the
end of our lesson, we shared with them our testimonies of Joseph Smith and that
the way they are going to know if he is a prophet truly is through the Book of
Mormon and by coming to church so they can know for themselves. They brought up
our lesson that I talked about last email and they said it really hit them hard
when we said that the reason that this gospel is so ridiculed is because it IS
the truth. It was so powerful to have them pray at the end. She asked to truly
be led by Him to know for themselves if it's true. Sincere prayers and
conversations with our Heavenly Father are the most important thing we can do. It
heals us and gives us answers. There is no other way. That sentence says it all. Prayer heals us and
gives us answers to our questions, if we are willing to do it meaningfully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2. Respect
for sacred experiences. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the lesson our investigators asked us how those who lose
their faith decide to come back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. This really got me thinking about how I came to know the truth of this
gospel. I realized what really helped me
know was my relationship with my Heavenly Father. I have always had a
relationship with Him. When I wanted to
know the truth, I asked Him and He told me. It's true! The Book of Mormon is
true and the gospel has been restored. I have come to love every spiritual
experience I have had with my Heavenly Father. The gospel is so simple and true
and Heavenly Father is truly just
waiting for us to ask Him questions. We need to respect and remember the
amazing experiences we have! Feeling the Spirit is not something the world gets
to feel every day and we need to respect every time and place we can feel it. especially
in the chapel at church. If you have an opportunity just sit in there by
yourself and feel the sacredness of it, it's amazing!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">3. how we
take counsel<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes it's hard to take counsel because we are prideful.
We can all take counsel better and we are all prideful. Let's not be prideful
so we can all be more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and know Him
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">4. Appeal
of obedience<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To have the biggest impact on others, we need to be
completely obedient to the commandments that God has given us. (Alma 18:10) A
lot of people have been asking lately why exactly we can't talk to our families
everyday. or why we don't watch t.v. or why our schedule is so set, or why we don't listen to music other than
church music. It gave me the opportunity to really think about how this has
affected me and I wouldn't change it for the world. I absolutely love being one
hundred percent focused on the work of the Lord. It reminds me that it really
is not all about me and I am so grateful to have this time to give all of it
up. Consecrating all my time to the Lord has changed my life, and I will never
forget how being obedient brings miracles. I know that relates to normal life too-
not just missionary life. You can see miracles you never thought possible by
being obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's why being obedient should
be APPEALING. BECAUSE IT BRINGS THE GREATEST BLESSINGS IN THE WORLD! the
opportunity to see miracles should not be taken lightly! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Have a great week! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-89650233443817190402014-05-26T20:20:00.000-07:002015-12-13T17:51:57.893-08:00<div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I Know That Jesus Christ is our Savior</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May 19, 2014</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This week has officially been the
craziest but most rewarding week of my entire life. I've had experiences that I
will never be able to express in the right words, but I truly have experienced a change of heart
and I've learned the true meaning of Christlike charity and love. I've learned
the importance of consecrating myself 100% to the work. I've also learned the
importance of the Spirit and of listening to the guidance of it. This Gospel is
real and true and I've never been more sure of it in my life. I've never been
so sure that angels are here upon the earth and I've never been so sure that
the powers of heaven can be in our lives every day. The Lord knows each of us
individually. I know without a doubt that Christ is our Savior. I know that
this is the Lord's kingdom here on the earth and HE is building it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We had one of the most amazing
lessons of my entire mission this past week. It was with the family that I've
talked about before- that was so excited to read the Book of Mormon and loved
the plan of salvation the second that we taught it to them. We were teaching
them the Gospel of Jesus Christ that night- Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and the
Gift of the Holy Ghost. We ended up only having time for faith, repentance and
baptism. As we were coming to the end of explaining baptism, there was a
feeling in my heart that I couldn't describe. The lesson was kind of turning to
a point where it was off topic, and I sat there just so deep in thought trying
to think of what to say because I knew that I needed to say something, but I didn't
know what. As they were talking, I waited for a pause. When there was one, I said
"I really feel like I need to say something but I want to warn you that I
don't exactly know how to say it or how to explain the feelings in my heart,
but I'm going to try". As I spoke, I felt the Spirit guide my words and I
don't know how to explain how it felt. but I felt the need to tell them so many
things. I told them that I know that before this life they knew they would find
the gospel and they would accept it here on the earth. I looked straight at "K" and I told her that as a representative of Jesus Christ, she is promised that
as she reads the Book of Mormon every single day, she WILL find the motivation
to get out of bed and find strength (she struggles with MS) and she will find a
peace in her heart that she has never felt before. Then I looked at "B" and promised him that
as he reads the Book of Mormon every single day, he will know what he needs to
do and he will know that it's true. I told them how special they were to their
Heavenly Father and I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now that doesn't seem like a really
unique story. It doesn't seem that different from the other lessons, but I wish
I could explain to you HOW STRONG THE SPIRIT WAS. It was an unreal feeling, and
it was so strong Christ could have been standing in the room and I wouldn't
have been surprised. As I finished talking, I asked them how they felt. "K" was shocked. She was mindblown. She sat there in awe and said that she felt
like Jesus Christ was talking to her through me. She felt like He was literally
in the room and it was the strongest she's ever felt the Spirit. "B" said he
was touched and impressed. He felt the Spirit so strongly also and as they
spoke, I knew what I needed to say. I asked them if they would follow the
example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood
authority of God. They both said yes. "K" said she literally couldn't move
her head the other way, she knew she needed to say yes because of what she
felt. I told them that God needed them in this Gospel and to retain this good
feeling that they felt, they needed to read the Book of Mormon, and come to
church. and continue to pray to know the truth. We ended with a prayer and left
that strong Spirit in their home that night. Last night we had the opportunity to teach
them again. They couldn't stop talking about how after we left that night, they
couldn't stop talking about that experience. They were still in awe because
they had never ever felt the Spirit that strong in their entire life. They said
after we left they just looked at each other and were like what. just. happened?
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know without a doubt that the Spirit is real and it is the
power that brings us to Jesus Christ. It's the power that lets us know that He
is here. With us. Today. Now. He lives
and that is the most important thing we could know and experience here on
earth. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father
is willing to bring His spirit into anyone's heart that is willing to accept
it. The Spirit is willing to come into ANY willing heart. We just need to let
it in. We need the commandments as much as we need to eat every day. We need to
take the sacrament just as much as we need to drink water every day. We need
our Savior Jesus Christ as much as we need any other relationship in our life.
It's THIS relationship that saves us for eternity and it's the feelings of the
Holy Ghost that promises us this eternity every time we feel it. The Spirit is
the most precious gift God has given us here on earth and we cannot take it for
granted ever again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I can say that without a doubt in my
heart. I can say it with everything that I have because I personally have
gotten to know Him. More than ever and I am so grateful for it. I know we need
to be baptized and confirmed to enter the kingdom of heaven. I know the second
coming is near at hand and we need to realize how much this gospel can bless us
now. I know that many can intellectually question what we say, but it's the
testimony and personal knowledge of the Savior that cannot be questioned
because it's so real and I know that the Spirit is His messenger here on earth.
I know that we need to go through trials
to become who He knows we can become</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6646677806237819244.post-50979863510515488312014-05-26T20:04:00.001-07:002015-12-13T17:53:02.402-08:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Prophets Are Amazing</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">May 12, 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Hello!!! I have learned a lot this
week and one of the best things was when we got to teach the family that just
got baptized in April! We were going over the Restoration again and talking
about Joseph Smith. We had the best opportunity to talk to the mom and hear her
share her testimony. She's not one to always offer her feelings/testimony, but
this lesson was amazing! She told us all about how she started on </span><a href="http://mormon.org/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue;">mormon.org</span></a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and she
was researching and asking so many questions, and finally she started talking
to missionaries and they sent her the Joseph Smith movie. She said that is when
everything changed. When she was watching the movie she just told everyone to
leave her alone because she was so wrapped up in it and so excited about it! She
said that after she heard that story, she KNEW it was true. It was amazing to
hear her experience with that, and it really got me thinking about prophets.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This morning I was reading about prophets and really WHY we
have one on earth and why it would be important to have one now. I found out
that one of the ways that God shows His love for us is by calling prophets. All
throughout time- God started each dispensation with calling a prophet, but we
see that those prophets are not always accepted or followed. We saw with Noah,
Moses, and even Adam- some people listen to them and some people don't. When we
listen, God keeps the priesthood on earth (the power of God) and when we don't
listen, He takes it off the earth. When we disregard, reject, and fail in
faith, we are distanced from God and we put ourselves in spiritual darkness-
and this could be on a worldwide scale, or a personal scale. I wanted to warn
about personal apostasy today. We are in the last dispensation and the fulness
of times- which means that we are promised that the priesthood WILL NOT be
taken from the earth again. This dispensation, that started with Joseph Smith,
will end in Christ's second coming. So, we already know that it won't be taken
away on a worldwide scale, so we just have to make sure that it's not taken
away on a personal scale! I truly
believe that we can make the second coming come faster. When we, as God's
family, maintain and increase our faith so much, Christ will have no other
choice but to come back to His people, but we need to become a virtuous people
first. We need to be knit together in unity and love. We need to get to know
our Savior Jesus Christ, and we need to remember that THE way to find joy in
our lives is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you are feeling like
nothing else can help you in life- we are promised that living the Gospel of
Jesus Christ will meet EVERY need no matter what it is! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The other thing I was thinking about was sacrifice and
service. When we were teaching that to a family this week, the younger girls
brought up that they didn't understand why Joseph Smith was tarred and
feathered. I just wanted to close with my feelings on this! I am SO thankful
that Joseph Smith sacrificed everything that he did so that we could have joy
today. PROPHETS. ARE. AMAZING. I am so thankful that Adam and Eve partook of
the fruit and fell from the presence of God so that we could have families and
learn of the joy of eternal life. I am so thankful that Noah built an ark and
was probably really uncomfortable for a long time with gross animals so that we
could be here today! I am so thankful that Abraham learned the importance of
sacrifice and faith so that we could learn from him and learn that Heavenly
Father will never forsake us. I am so thankful that Thomas S. Monson spends his
time each and every day serving those around him and teaching us love. Lastly,
I am so thankful that we have a Savior who was willing to give up everything so
that we could have joy here on earth and live with Him and our families one
day. WE HAVE PROPHETS TODAY SO THAT WE CAN HAVE JOY. So that they can testify
of Christ through their actions. You can really tell that a prophet is a man of
God by the sacrifices he makes. The best part is, this applies to us too.
Things are hard here on earth so that we can learn the law of sacrifice and see
that it can bring us joy and the people around us joy, so that we can feel just a small part of the
Savior's pain, and so that we can
understand how much we need to be humbled and grateful for His sacrifice. I
have a testimony that by sacrificing, a joy is brought into our lives that
cannot be found anywhere else. I see it and feel it every day as a missionary. By showing kindness, listening, comforting,
serving, praying, sharing, and being a friend, we can transcend ALL boundaries.
<br />
<br />
We need to follow Christ SO CLOSELY that Satan cannot even FIND us. Let that
phrase sink into your heart. Christ is in our midst, and His coming is near. It
is up to us to be ready!<br />
"Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for
behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune
my vineyard" Jacob 5:62<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08778649516127661566noreply@blogger.com0