Boy, Oh Boy...



Boy oh Boy! This week has been such an adventure!

I will try to keep this short, but I know it probably wont happen. I guess a better promise is that I will keep it interesting so that you still want to read it. Either way, here we go :)

 

On Tuesday we met with one of the coolest girls ever. Her name is Mandy Goddard. She is 23 and working on her masters in English Literature. Pretty much I just want to be her. She has helped me discover that you can be normal and an English major, so there is hope for me when I return home.

Also on Tuesday we got to meet with one of my favorite women in the ward- Sharon. She is a single mom. Her 19 year old son that is preparing to serve a mission in Tennessee, Joe, and her live with her mom. She is a convert and her mom is not a member. We have been going with the lessons with her trying to help her build her faith and be strong in the many struggles that she has. This week we were talking about the Plan of Salvation, and it was so awesome. For anyone else that has served a mission or is serving a mission, it was one of those lessons where I think I learned more than she did. It is interesting how the Lord blesses us with knowledge. It's not until we experiment upon His words that the witness comes to us. We love those that we serve, and there are so many ways to serve people. Helping them feel the spirit is what has been the most rewarding. 

 

Wednesday I got to go on exchanges. I went with Sister Moberg to the Mountain view ward. It covers Loma Linda where there is a medical school run by Seventh Day Adventists. We only visited active members that day, but they were all students at the school. It's like BYU and they have to take religion courses to fulfill requirements. We met this one family, the Carlson's, that were awesome!! We got to have a really good Gospel discussion with them and we talked about how we come to know Jesus Christ. We truly have to feast upon His words -- In the words of Elder Lawrence E. Corbrige, "Delight in fatness."-- and become converted to His Gospel, not just the church. We talked about this talk by Elder Poelman in 1984. It's called "The Gospel and the Church." He talks about how the Church is just the institution through which we can more fully become converted to the Gospel. The Church evolves and changes, the Gospel stays steady. Elder Poelman says, "We should obey the commandments and counsel of Church leaders; but also through study, through prayer, and by the influence of the Holy Spirit, we should seek and obtain an individual, personal witness that the principle or counsel is correct and divinely inspired. Then we can give enlightened, enthusiastic obedience, utilizing the Church as a means through which to give all allegiance, time, talent, and other resources without reluctance or resentment." That really made me think and gave me an idea of what I wanted to gain from General Conference. While obedience is great, righteousness brings blessings. We can't be righteous unless we are enthused about our obedience. We have to want it. Heavenly Father doesn't want us to be miserable, He wants us to delight in the Gospel. 

 

So, I guess that brings us to what I actually loved from Conference. All of it of course, but I will  just share my favorite moments. 

Why not start from the beginning? Who doesn't love Elder Holland? Because when we wonder if doing the things the Lord asks of us he reminds us that we absolutely must. If we don't we will have desolate lives, desolate homes, and be desolate people. We don't have a comfortable God, or a comfortable Savior, We have a loving Heavenly Father and Redeemer that give us commandments so that we can be better and avoid things that will not make us better. What a great way to open as the Spirit was poured upon us in testimony of Jesus Christ?  Elder Anderson pointed out, the world is not going to glide smoothly to the second coming. We are going to have to fight for our faith. But we must remember that God allows us to be shaken so that we can be strengthened. Just like how trees gain strength in their roots and trunks when the wind blows them, Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to gain strength in trials. We must remember that we are "infinitely more precious to God than a tree." If He is looking out for the trees, He is looking out for us. We must also remember that there are commandments to be kept to obtain that strength though. May we be lucky enough to be raised in families like those that President Eyring described that give their children memories of scriptures and prayers and hymns for the Holy Ghost to bring back to their remembrance. And, may we remember the true statement of Elder Nelson that, "keeping diving commandments brings blessing every time. Breaking divine commandments loses blessings every time." We must let our faith show. Don't practice selective obedience (Elder Hales). Also, cling to the covenants you have made with Heavenly Father, and always be working hard at being better and helping others make those same covenants (Elder Cook).

 

Let's move on to Sunday, shall we? Dont be thankful for things; be thankful for the circumstances you are in. Elder Uchtdorf sure knows how to make us want to be better and make us feel good, huh? He gave an awesome reminder though, "How often do we wait to see the rainbow forgetting to thank God for the rain?" I love that! He also said, "Gratitude is and expression of hope and testimony" and continued to command us to let our testimonies of Jesus Christ transform us.  "Grattitude is a Catalyst to all Christlike attributes." President Monson talked about developing Charity, who doesn't need a little more of that? Serve people, and pray for the opportunity to do so. 

My favorite apostle tends to be Elder Bednar. He did not disappoint either. His message was clear. Jesus Christ offers to take our yoke upon Himself, and by "making and keeping sacred covenants [it] yokes us to Jesus Christ." We need to have a desire to have Christ help us, not take our burdens from us. We need our burdens to give us traction and to help us progress. We must pray for that strength, and remember that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven. 

I love that Conference this year focused on strengthening our faith in Jesus Christ and then making covenants. Elder Walker clearly stated that ,"No sacrifice is too great than to receive the ordinances of the temple." We must remember that not only for ourselves but for our ancestors and our children also. Prepare for whatever covenant you need to make with the Lord. Remember what the good things are, and what the bad things are. "One must not roam through Garbage" (Elder Aidukaitis). Conference was awesome and I hope that all of you will take the time to gain a personal testimony of the things that were shared. 

 

One final invitation for all of you that are having a hard time coming up with things to write me about (that's got to be why the mailbox is always empty, right?;)) The invitation given by Elder Ballard. The plan goes as follows:

1. Get Preach My Gospel-- It's easy, I promise. You can even look at it online 

2. Study Preach My Gospel as a family-- It tells you not only how to be a better missionary, but also how to be a better disciple of Christ, and isn't that what we all want?

3. Write me about it :) - 'nuff said.

And dont worry, I will follow up. Elder Ballard promised, " If we follow up, the Lord will not let us down."

Okay now that you have all reviewed conference vicariously through me I hope you take the time to do it again on your own. President Monson said, "May we resolve to do a little bit better than we have in the past [and] may we ever be found doing the work of the Lord." That is my prayer for all of you. I love you and thank you for everything. Try harder to be better, and continue in the work of salvation.

 

All my love, 

Sister Hope