Since this last week was so incredibly awesome, on so
many levels, it will be hard for me to be able to express everything in a way
that you can experience it, but I will do my best.
To start
things off, we had some pretty amazing lessons with Rosario about the power of
the Atonement and forgiveness. We were able to help her start an action plan
and we gave her some homework, an awesome talk by Jeffrey R. Holland called "Remember
Lot's Wife." We had a sweet Family Home Evening with her and
Orlando (her bf) and we invited him to start taking the lessons to see and
experience what Rosario has been learning.
The same day as the FHE, we did service at
Alfredo's house who also had his non-member sister there visiting. We had an
amazing BBQ afterwards for lunch and then went over to Rosario's again later and BBQ'ed
Otra Vez.
Sonia, Chris's mom, wants us to start teaching her the lessons as she
has loved coming to church the past couple weeks, but by far, my favorite part
of this whole week has got to be yesterday. We got permission from President
Packard to go down to New London, CT because Ramona Donstorg and Brandon were
getting baptized! To add to that wonderful news, President Packard told us
along these lines, "Hey, Jeffrey R. Holland will be down there for stake
conference at 10. You Elders are more than welcome to go to that if you'd like,
you deserve it," so along with seeing a family I had come to love and care
about so deeply, that the Lord put in our path to find, we got permission to go
see an Apostle of the Lord speak in person! It was amazing! That whole Stake
Conference was just jam packed with inspired words. It was cool because the
people who had things prepped, got up and changed them because the Spirit was
directing them to say something else. Let's just say I got what I needed to
hear and it is amazing to me how our Heavenly Father knows each and every one
of us perfectly and what we need in every moment. Jeffrey R. Holland had a lot
of jokes up his sleeve as well, which was cool to hear his sense of humor. He
invited us all, especially those 12-22 years of age, to tithe 10 years out of
our lives to the Lord. He then said that if we but did that, everything else in our
lives would fall into place. The best part of it all was the Blessing that he
left on all of us. I don't feel comfortable sharing it with all of you, but
right as he was saying it, he said this blessing was as if he himself was
putting his hands on our heads for the blessing. The spirit that man brings
with him is just astounding. After, Ramona and Brandon got to shake his hand,
and Brandon told him how he was getting baptized. It was cool to hear how
excited Jeffrey R. Holland was. Then after the line finished up and we were
able to get Mike (our ride) up there to meet him, we too got to shake his hand. It
was pretty dang cool! After being filled and uplifted by the Spirit after an
amazing Stake Conference we headed over to the church and had the baptism. It
was such a beautiful experience and one that I am grateful for, for being able
to see all these wonderful people again that I had come so close to. To see Ramona and
Brandon dressed in white and to be able to baptize them having been
commissioned of Jesus Christ was a remarkable experience. The joy and peace
that I felt was amazing. Then the part that really got to me was when Ramona
was bearing her testimony. It is amazing to see how far she has come and the
light that has entered her life as result of coming to know the truth for
herself that this is Christ's church restored on the earth today with the
fullness of His gospel. The part that really hit home to me was when she started to
talk about how it was my character, the way I carried myself, taught and bore a
sincere testimony, that kept her interested and helped her feel something. I
still do not quite understand what she saw, because I find it hard to see, but I
am grateful that even with my own imperfections she was able to see the love I
have for this gospel and I think that is something that everyone can see when they
look at everyone of us. We have that special light that can only be obtained
through knowing the truth and having the Holy Ghost as our special companion
always. Truly, as the Lord said, we are a peculiar people.
I am so grateful for
this wonderful knowledge I have come to know and am grateful that I have been
able to help bring a few to come to know these things for themselves,
whether for the first time or bringing them back to a remembrance of what they
had come to know before. The joy that I feel as a result is a joy that I cannot
come close to explain, truly what the scriptures say in Doctrina y Convenios es
verdad.
15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days
in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me,
how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that
you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your
joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
I
know that what these scriptures say are true. If we want to truly be happy, to
truly have this great joy in our lives, this is the most fulfilling and best
way that we can accomplish it. To "forget ourselves and go to work."
I invite all those who are reading this to come to know what I have come to
know of this great joy that can be felt through the gospel. For those who are
members and have come to know how wonderful this gospel is, I invite you to
think about one of your friends, family members, really just anyone that you
can have a missionary experience with. For those who are reading and are not
members, I invite you to come take the missionary lessons and learn of and
experience this great joy of the true and full gospel for yourselves.
I
know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that he lives and that The
church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is his church restored on the earth
today. That this church has the Priesthood of God, that the power and authority
given to man to act in the name of God for the salvation and benefit of his
children is on the earth once again today. I know these things of myself and I
am so grateful for them and a loving Father in Heaven who has blessed me to come
to know them. I leave these things with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
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