Cease fighting against God..

                         
Yes everyone, I am back to blogging! :) I wanted to share this video! It touched my heart and I hope that it does yours as well.
We can all learn a powerful lesson from this video and I know that we can all relate to it!
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy says (in the video), ".. I disregarded what I knew to be right, I ignored what my parents repeatedly told me, I had been both lazy and rebellious and I paid a price for it. Disregarding what we know to be right...always brings undesirable and spiritually damaging consequences. We find healing and relief only when we bring ourselves to the feet of the create physician Jesus Christ. We must cease fighting against God and instead give our whole hearts to him, holding nothing back then he can heal us, then he can cleanse us from the vemonise sting of sin."
How many times do I disregard what I know to be right? I know that I have done this, we all do from time to time. I know that I can be lazy at times, and a lil rebellious. I don't want to be like that anymore, I don't want to fight against God anymore. I know that He can heal us, but we have to let Him, I know that when I listen to the things He tells me to do, and to do the best I can he will help me. No matter how much we get caught in that trap with sin, He will always help us find a way out. Because He loves us! He loves Me! I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way we can find true happiness. That's when we are truly free.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Love music?

The other day we were doing choir practice at the church with some of the missionaries in our zone. We were practicing a hymn that we are going to be singing on Sunday. 
As we were practicing, I couldn't help but watch everyone. I noticed how we were all laughing and smiling and having fun while we were practicing. After practicing the hymn one of the elders went to the piano and started playing songs on the piano. Before I knew it we were all gathered around the piano singing along.
During the time that we were practicing I felt so much love within that room. Later that night I thought about why there was so much love in the room and so much happiness.
The next morning for my personal study I wanted to know and understand why we have music. There are many things in the Bible that talk about music, even the people in the Bible times laughed and enjoyed singing and playing music.
"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.." (Doctrine and Covenants 25:11-12)
We were singing a hymn, which is "a prayer unto [God]".
This was the Lord speaking to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for his wife Emma to put hymns together.
As a missionary, I teach how the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families and draws our family closer together. This night at choir practice was just another testimony to me that this is true. I am miles away from my mom, dad, brother and sister. However, the people I meet here, and the missionaries, I consider my family. This night being gathered together singing hymns just drew us closer together.

I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ does indeed draw family and friends closer together! I love the comedy show "I Love Lucy". There are many times in the episode when it show the four friends singing together, happy and joyful songs. It is those happy, joyful, and uplifting music that brings us closer together. I know Heavenly Father wants us to be close and I know that music is a great blessing to have.

We are fighting a battle

Have you ever had one of those days where you can't stay focused? You have so many things going through your mind and can't seem to pay attention? Ya Ive been having one of those days. So many things have been going through my mind, things that don't really matter right now. My whole mission I've been really good on focusing and paying attention to what I am out here to do, and that is to teach the restored gospel. So why am I having such a hard time right now? Things that didn't bother me before are now bothering me and I cant seem to stop thinking about it.

Being an online missionary we often talk about Christ and His gospel and the blessings that come from living His gospel. Following Jesus Christ and His example helps us to be happy and to understand true happiness. I've never talked about the one that does not want us to be happy, he wants us to be miserable. Yes, I'm talking about Satan.

I read a weekly letter from our dear mission president that he sent us via email a couple months ago. As I read this letter I've been thinking about what Satans purpose is. In the Bible dictionary it explains him being, "..the enemy of righteousness and of those who seek to do the will of God... he does strive to lead men and women from the work of God... One of the major techniques of the devil is to cause human beings to think they are following God's ways, when in reality they are deceived by the devil to follow other paths."
Satan is really willing to destroy us, how does he do this? President David O. Mckay said, "The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul." What does this mean to you?
Does Satan have power to place a thought in my mind? Yes!

Sometimes we think that it might be us ourselves and the way that we feel causes those feelings to come.

President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "We should be on guard always to resist Satan's advances. He has power to place thoughts in our minds and to whisper to us in unspoken impressions to entice us to satify our appetites or desires and in various other ways he plays upon our weakness and desires." See (2 Nephi 28:22).
Remember, Satan was in heaven with us before he was cast out. He does know our weaknesses and uses them against us. The things that have been on my mind is a weakness of mine. I've often thought if I really made the right decision to come here and serve the Lord. I know all of a sudden, Satan is putting putting this thought in my mind to distract me from the work I am here to do. Its been a challenge, I know though, that I have the Lord on my side, that the Lord also knows my thoughts and the desires of my heart. With the Lords help I can overcome Satan, and I will be able to not be distracted. Prayer has really helped me these past couple days to remember the thoughts and feelings I had in my decision in serving the Lord. I know that the Lord wants me here at this time, and no matter what, everything will work out. The Lord wants us to be happy, He sees the bigger picture. I love my Father in Heaven, I'm grateful that He sent us the Holy Ghost to help lead and guide us and to help us resist the temptations of the devil!
I know its an ongoing battle we must face every single day. I know that by follow the Lord counsel we can be able to win that battle against Satan.
I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He is our Savior. I know that Satan never gives up on us and he is trying his hardest to distract us from the things that matter most.
Remember we are all sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, He will never lead us astray!
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

" He is not here, but is Risen."

                                

As a kid, my brother and I would always watch the "Living Scriptures" videos. I'm a visual person so these videos help me out alot when I read my scriptures!
This one is/was one of my favorites. How do you feel as you watch this video? Do you feel a burning sensation inside your body, have tears of sadness and joy? I know that the spirit will testify to you that Jesus is the Christ as you watch this video.  

"...Those who have lived and died, those who now live and one day will die, and those yet to be born and yet to die had just been rescued." -Pres. Thomas S. Monson

"He is risen! He is risen! He hath opened heaven's gate. We are free from sin's dark prison, Risen to a holier state. And a brighter Easter beam. On our longing eyes shall stream."

I was not in the crowd when He came, but I know He lives. That Jesus is the Christ. I have no doubt in my mind that He is Risen!

I know He will come again, and like the little boy in the video, I will be watching!

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Need a "friendly" reminder to pray?

Prayer Rock

"I’m your little prayer rock and this is what I’ll do.
Just put me on your pillow till the day is through.
Then turn back the covers and climb into your bed
And WHACK … your little prayer rock will hit you on your head.
Then you will remember as the day is through
To kneel and say your prayers as you wanted to,
Then when you are finished just dump me on the floor,
I’ll stay there through the night-time to give you help once more.
When you get up the next morning CLUNK…I stub your toe
So you will remember your prayers before you go.
Put me back upon your pillow when your bed is made,
And your clever little prayer rock will continue in your aid.
Because your heavenly Father cares and loves you so,
He wants you to remember to talk to him… you know."

Remember who you are and what you stand for...Little Rock..

Mormon-Fu

I had been taking Mormon-Fu for quite a few years now. Since I was 8 years old, being trained in the school of Sunday and seminary, having had many good instructors and coaches, knowing some great moves and stances, my coach decided it was time for my title match.

This was not a national, state city, or even block title. It was something far more important to me, and to those who knew me. For if I won this, I would be able to practice in the celestial dojo with the best master ever.

As I walked into the locker room, I saw my opponent putting on his murky black karate uniform. His name was Lucifer D. Satan. He'd been around for a very long time. He was small, quick, deceptively powerful, and an unbelievably chatty fighter.

From the moment I walked in, he began taunting me trying to make me attack him in the locker room and get me disqualified before the match even began.

I kept my cool and said "I do my talking in the ring." "I do my talking in the ring," he mimicked. As they led us into the ring, I could see a small crowd in the top ten rows of the five hundred row stadium and could tell it was going to be a very rough crowd.

As the referee went over the ground rules, some of the crowd jumped in the ring, knocked the referee out and dragged him away.

As I watched helplessly, the bell rang and the devil landed a vicious blow to the head, full of hate and malice. 

While I lay on the ground, He swung at me with a evil music left and right. This took a little out of me, but in a unprecedented move, I stood up and bore my testimony, but he slashed through with a blonde in a mini-skirt. 

I stumbled back and leaned heavily on the ropes, but I acted more dazed then I was and as he came in, I spun and nailed him with a church hymn. He struck blindly with a fast car, but I blocked him with our dying ford and countered with the power of prayer.

He tried hopelessly to hit with evil urges, but I sidestepped with a family that cared for me greatly and gave an uppercut with the power of the priesthood.
He was bleeding from several places now, but as I attacked with a solid testimony of the Word of Wisdom, suddenly he sidestepped and grabbed me with a boring speaker and a sleeper hold. I slide out with a good spiritual fast and testimony meeting, but I was noticeably hurt. He tried to drop me with a fishing trip on Sunday, but that was his mistake, I don't fish well. I began to pepper him with a few quick trips to the temple interposed with baptisms for the dead. He was on the run now, as I threw in a few scriptures from The Book of Mormon.
In my haste to finish him off, I ran right into sports on Sunday. I swung with a friend taping the super bowl for me on Sunday. But I was noticeably stung and bleeding in a few places. He struck back again and again with drugs and pornography and anything he could get his hands on, but his arsenal was shrinking quickly.
We stood back for a second, blood was dripping from both of us.
All of a sudden my inner strength swelled, and I hit him viciously with my mission call. I tattooed the signature of the prophet Thomas S. Monson across his forehead and knocked him out by serving a successful and honorable mission. 
I knew that was not all. True enough, I had won this match but I knew there would always be a rematch and he would be back again, only more powerful the next time.

I know that we are always in a battle with Satan. Everyday is going to tempt us with anything he can get his hands on. I know that the power of God is more powerful than Satan no matter what! I know that with all these things that we have in the gospel, our scriptures, hymns, seminary, church, the commandments, with all these things we can and will be able to win the battle against Satan.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

"Follow thou Me"

Today we were able to see a wonderful woman take that next step and follow Jesus Christ. Yup, she was baptized!

Earlier that morning I was reading in the Book of Mormon, I had left off the night before in 2 Nephi 30. So I started reading and read chapter 30 and 31. Chapter 31 talks about baptism, which was a little ironic because we had a baptism today. I read through each verse as carefully as I could. I feel like I should have this chapter memorized because I've read it so many times. I've come to like this chapter the more and more I read it.
The prophet Nephi explains in chapter 31 why Christ was baptized, and how important it is for us to be baptized. One of the GREATEST things about getting baptized, isn't just taking upon ourselves the name of Christ, but we also receive a wonderful gift! The gift of the Holy Ghost, or the Spirit to be a constant companion to us. To help lead and guide us through the rest of our lives as long as we live worthy of it. What an AMAZING gift our Father in Heaven has given us!
As I was reading however there was a question that Nephi asked that caught my attention. " And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the work of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighter to save." 2 Nephi 31:19

What an interesting question. Are we done once we enter the waters of baptism? Nope, life still goes on. We will still have trials and struggles, and that's why the atonement of Jesus Christ is so great. We are able to repent, and return to live with Him. In the next verse it says,"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." I love this last part.. "If ye shall press forward, and endure to the end...We shall have eternal life."

Just like in my last post, we are not perfect but we can be clean and I know that baptism is a way that we can be clean. We can be as clean as we were when we were first baptized as long as we repent and keep going forward following Christ.

I know that Christ lives and I know that we will one day return to live with our Father in Heaven again and we can be with our families forever.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Perfect or Clean?

What is the difference between being perfect and being clean? Is there a difference?

Yes, there is a difference. I think sometimes we think that there is not, and that can be discouraging.

Sometimes we will find our faults and focus on them and do everything we can to make those faults better, but in the mean time forget about everything else. In the Book of Mormon, in Ether 12:27 is says," 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."
Bruce C. Hafen said,"As we draw closer to God, He will show us our weakness and through them make us wiser, and stronger. If you're seeing more of your weakness, that just might mean you're moving nearer to God, not farther away."

It is important for us to recognize our weaknesses but not to dwell on them or get discouraged. It is a time for us to learn and then do better next time. If we have the desire to follow Christ and be better, we will want to repent and we will strive to be better. Will we be perfect? No, but we can strive to do our best.

I know that it is important for us to "...repent of [our] iniquity, and become clean before the Lord."

I know that we aren't perfect, "..all of us are 'works in process,' we can be worthy while still needing improvement."

I know that through Jesus Christ and His gospel we can be clean and strive to be the best that we can. 

Remember who you are and what you stand for! 

We are all precious sons and daughters of God. The Lord knows the desires of our hearts. When we are willing to humble ourselves, repent and be baptized we can be clean. What a great blessing. I will forever express my gratitude to the Lord, for the wonderful amazing example He is to all of us.

"We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy-not guilt trips!"-Elder Russell M. Nelson

Please read this talk below! Dis is AMAZING!

Cecil O. Samuelson, "What Does It Mean to Be Perfect?"   

 

"Things we know, and things we DO NOT"

Have any of you lost a loved one? Was it through natural causes or did they take their own life?   
I have often thought about what happens to those who take their own life. We know that the law of Moses, or the 10 commandments, that is says "Thou shalt not kill." OK, well does this mean also taking one's own life? 
I pondered on this question for awhile. A very good friend of mine took his life about 5 days before I left for my mission.  
My friend called me on the phone and told me this terrible news. I hung up the phone and just sat outside on my porch.
I was shocked when I heard this news, I thought no not him! Why him?!

I don't know why, but I have been thinking alot about him lately. Especially when I study about the Plan of Salvation.

I wonder, if there is hope for him and if he could be forgiven. Would God, and could forgive an act such as this one.

I came across a talk on LDS.org by Elder M. Russell Ballard, "Things we know, and things we do not." There is a part of this talk that brought much comfort to my soul, as I hope it does with yours as well. "I believe the Lord will consider each case separately and judge the circumstances of each individual. I have sincerely sought direction from our Father in Heaven to help me understand the nature of suicide. And I have come to know, as well as anything else that I know from God, that these people have a place in the kingdom of our Father, and it is not one of darkness or despair, but one where they can receive comfort and experience serenity." "...it is clear that hope exists."

In Doctrine and Covenants 138:58-59 it says,"The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, And after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation."
I know there is hope for all those who have passed on. I know that I will see him again. "... Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)

Hymns, Have a GREAT message.

Today at church we sang a hymn just before we passed the sacrament. Its titled "Behold the Great Redeemer Die." I have heard this hymn many times in my life, but for some reason today it really stood out to me.

I wanna write down some of the hymns.....

"Behold the great Redeemer die, A broken law to satisfy.
He dies a sacrifice for sin, He dies a sacrifice for sin,
That man may live and glory win.

While guilty men his pains deride, They pierce his hands and feet and side.
And with insulting scoffs and scorns, And with insulting scoffs and scorns,
They crown his head with plaited thorns.

Although in agony he hung, No murm'ring word escaped his tongue.
His high commission to fulfill, His high commission to fulfill,
He magnified his Father's will.

'Father, from me remove this cup. Yet, if thou wilt, I'll drink it up.
I've done the work thou gavest me, I've done the work thou gavest me,
Receive my spirit unto thee.'

HE LIVES-he lives. We humbly now Around these sacred symbols bow
And seek, as Saints of latter days, And seek, as Saints of latter days.
To do his will and live his praise."

This is my new favorite hymn. I love my Savior with all my heart. I'm grateful to be sharing His gospel.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Hungry?... for spiritual guidance?

I know its only Wednesday, but this week has been a great week so far!

This Sunday was the first Sunday of the month, so fast Sunday. A day which we fast for 2 meals and give money for those two meals to the church which goes towards feeding the poor. 

I never fasted before I came on a mission. I always wondered what the purpose was. I didn't think that it was that big of a deal. 

Well the past months I have come to understand the importance of fasting and what is the purpose of fasting.

Like alot of us do, I have questions and concerns that I want answered. Fasting is a way for me to show Heavenly Father that I really need to know the answer to my question or need my concerns resolved so I can do my work that I am here to do.  

Before fasting, start with a prayer and during the day think about that question and/or concern that you may have. 

I have found that my questions have been answered and my concerns have been addressed. Not only that, but I feel so good that day. I feel so in tune with the spirit and able to recognize promptings that come to my mind.

This Sunday I fasted for a particular thing, something for me, my companion and our area here in Napa. 

Yesterday, I felt like Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayer. It was like and ah-ha moment for me, that He does love me and is helping me in my area and as a missionary.  

The great thing about fasting is that you don't have to wait til fast Sunday to fast. You can fast anytime about anything.

I know that it is important to fast, and we can be more in tune with the spirit and the promptings he gives us. 

If you have a question or concern about anything or anyone, I want to invite you to fast and pray to the Father about it. I know that it will be answered.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, To be HaPpY :)

Well, its that time again! Transfers!!! Every 6 weeks we find out if we either stay in our areas for another 6 weeks, leave for a new area, get a new companion or both. Pretty exciting and quite intense, waiting for that call to come. (Phone call comes).......

Yes!! Staying in Napa for at LEAST another 6 weeks, and I get to stay with Sister Tuifua for another 6 weeks. Very exciting!

The thing I look forward to every transfer is zone conference. Which is a certain number of missionaries in certain areas gather together and hear some words of wisdom (as I like to call it) from other missionaries and President Bunker and Sister Bunker.

We had it today!! Ah, I was so excited and pumped to go to San Rafael. Its such a testimony to me, that the Lord really does know what we need and the desires of our hearts. Everything that was shared to us missionaries is just what I needed to hear.
The past few months I have just felt so.. so.. I don't even know how to describe it. Just felt tired and blah.

Something that dear Sister Bunker talked about really touched me and to be honest helped me kinda snap out of it. She has been a great example to me since I came out here on the mission field. She was diagnosed with breast cancer not to long after I came out here. Every time I have seen her or talked to her, she has always been cheerful and always greeted me and other missionaries with a smile. She has been very positive with this trial of hers and is doing much better.

She asked a question today that really made me sit back and think alot. What do we have to not be cheerful about? 

She quoted a scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 123:17,"...Let us cheerfully do all things..." She is SO right!! I have no reason to feel blah! We are SO blessed I have no reason to not be cheerful. This gospel has brought much happiness into my life, and I am so grateful to be reminded of why I am here serving the Lord.

I'm so grateful to be here in the California Santa Rosa Mission. I learn something new everyday.

I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us, and Jesus Christ is His son, and He is our Savior.

Our greatest source of happiness, is found in the gospel. I'm grateful for Sister Bunker's testimony that she shares to us every month. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember your Father(S)

                          
To be honest I got on here and had no idea what I wanted to talk about. I started watching videos and reading talks to see if an idea would come. I watched this video of father and son, and it hit me real hard. Even though this is of a father and son it reminded me of me and my father. I love my dad, he knows I love him but I felt the same way Dylan did in this video. I rolled my eyes when he wanted to talk to me, and talking to him was just weird. During the video I started thinking of my dad and our relationship, I've thought about him alot, being here on a mission. I wouldn't say our relationship was terrible but I know it wasn't the best. To me there is nothing like a father and daughter relationship.
I think about my relationship with my Father in Heaven. To me that is very important and I know its important to Heavenly Father as well. If I want to have a close relationship with my Heavenly Father, I have to do these things that Elder Ballard counsels..
1- Trust Your Father- I know that Heavenly Father knows what is best for me and wants me to be happy.
2-Take an interest in your Father- I know that enjoying His creations we can take part of Him and who He is. I believe our talents are a huge part of this. I believe that when we share our talents with others we are taking an interest in our Heavenly Father.
3-Ask Him for advice- I know that we can talk to Him about anything. I have asked my Father in Heaven for advice, and I know that He has given me counsel.
My Heavenly Father has blessed me with a great earthly father. I want to take counsel to Elder Ballards counsel to my earthly father. I know that it is just as important to be close to him as it is with my Heavenly Father.
Thank you Heavenly Father for being there for me when I need the advice. I do trust you and am willing to do whatever you ask of me.
Thank you for my earthly father. I'm sorry for not showing my gratitude towards either of you. I am grateful for him, and I will do better to be an example to my father.
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

The Tree of Life: Part 2 of 2

                            
"I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed... And after they tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost." (1 Nephi 8:24-25, 28)

I read these verses and thought to myself.."Is this something I would do? Am I sometimes ashamed of who I am and what I believe." I thought back and pondered on this.

As I pondered on this question, while reading an ensign talk, I came to a scripture that was quoted. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16)
The only thing that I could say was, "I hope not." I hope I'm not one of those people, like in the video, that feels ashamed and lets go of the iron rod. The mist of darkness is everywhere around us, Satan in constantly tempting us. I know that if I just hold tight to the iron rod I will be able to feel of Gods love for me, and everyone else around us. I know that to be true for everyone. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ does make us happy. It doesn't matter about the people in the building laughing, mocking and pointing fingers. Yes at times it is and can be hard, but I know that if we have the courage we need to stand as witnesses of Him, He will help us. Don't be ashamed! "We will have the courage to face whatever comes." So I ask.. Are you ashamed?
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember, The Spirit is a Still Small Voice.

We were asked a question the other day by a recent convert of ours. "How do you recognize the spirit?" How do I explain this? Well, I read something in Preach My Gospel about the spirit. "That the spirit is quiet, a still small voice, a whisper and it can pierce the very soul (3 Nephi 11:3)."
Yes, scriptures help but I thought of a personal experience of mine.

Before coming on my mission I thought of somethings that I needed to do before I came out here. One particular thing I was very concerned about and to be honest was afraid of the answer. But, I needed to know what the Lord wanted me to do. No matter what the answer, I kneeled down, and I remember just pleading to the Lord of what I should do. I told Him I would do anything He wanted of me so that I could be prepared and ready to serve Him. After asking Him and just sitting there beside my bed pondering on this question, I had this feeling of this thing I needed to do. The next day, at work, I started having my doubts. I started asking myself, "is this something the Lord wants me to do? Did I really feel the spirit?" I believe we always have our doubts after we feel the spirit. Satan puts those doubts into our minds to make us think differently. He knows that we did indeed feel the spirit but he wants us to thing otherwise.

I took a minute to myself and asked Heavenly Father again if this was something that He wanted me to do. I can't really explain the feeling that I got, but it was just a calm peaceful feeling. The scriptures teach us that the Spirit gives feelings of peace and comfort. I thought about that moment I was beside my bed. I knew that the Lord told me what I needed to do. I did not know why but I told myself this is what I need to do. Later that night, I did what the Lord asked me to do. It was hard for me, because I didn't know why and later wondered if I made a mistake. I expressed to the Lord how I felt, that I was unsure about the decision I made. I felt that comfort feeling come over me and I knew everything would be OK. Now about a year later after this decision I realized that the Lord had something else in store for my life. I'm very grateful that I listened to that still small voice, I didn't know why at the time. Now, I do. (Doctrine and Covenants 9:8-9)
I invite you all to remember the feelings you have when you pray or read the scriptures. Pay attention to what the Lord is trying to tell you. I know that He speaks to us through the Spirit. "...Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good."
Remember who you are and what you stand for!

Remember... Weak Times

Its a foggy morning here in Napa!!! We rode bike again today, and I have to say.. Its beautiful riding in the fog. It gave me alot of pondering time.
I thought back on the past couple of days, and realized that this week so far has been a spiritual one for me. I feel like the Lord has really been talking to me.
For the past month, as I said in my previous post, I have been struggling at somethings. I felt like I wasn't doing anything I needed to as a missionary. I was "WEAK" I guess you can say, and that's all I have been noticing is my weak points.

Well, we had a meeting with some missionaries and our mission president. He asked us to read this talk before the meeting, titled "The Atonement: All for All" by Bruce C. Hafen of the Seventy. Something he said in that talk didn't hit me until I heard our mission president say it. "If you're seeing more of your weakness, that just might mean you're moving nearer to God, not farther away." Once he said that, I sat and thought about it and it was like a HUGE relief/burden that was lifted off my shoulders. I look back now on the past month and look at my "weak" points and realized that there are some things that I wanna change. In the Book of Mormon, in Ether 21:27 it reads, "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."

Its so true, the Lord shows us our weakness so that we can try to be better, and be more like him. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father loving me and caring for me so much that he is willing to show me my weakness so that I can, with His help become stronger.

I'm grateful for our mission president for the words that he said yesterday, they really helped me out and I know that the things he said to us missionaries was an answer to one of my prayers.
I love this gospel very much, and I know that Heavenly Father does care about each and every one of His children. I'm grateful that I am able to notice my weak moments, so that I can work harder to be more and more like my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ, because of the atonement, I'm able to repent of my mistakes and try harder. Remember who you are and what you stand for!

A sister's experience on bike

These past 2 days we have had the chance to do what the rest of the elder missionaries do... That is to ride bike.

We peddled all over Napa, or so it seems like. Visiting people and talking to many people on the streets. We had some good conversations about our Savior Jesus Christ. Its great that so many people know of Him, but there are those that do not.

We ran into one gentleman, we had a good conversation with him. He said something that really touched my heart. He said, "if you pay attention to the people walking down the street and stop ignoring them... You'll be amazed of what you find." I have a strong testimony of this statement. I have met some amazing people on the streets when walking or, now, biking. 

Talking to people is something that I have struggled with. Its just hard for me to strike up conversations. My friend back home is really good at it, and so is my dad. They can talk to anyone they come in contact with. Before I left on my mission I told myself that by the time my mission is over I want to be able to talk to anyone about anything. 
In the scriptures it says (Matt, Mark, Luke & John) that Christ taught His people. In the Book of Mormon, starting at 3 Nephi 11, Christ visits the people in the Americas after His resurrection and He teaches the people.
Jesus Christ is that example of a true missionary. It shows the love that we have for our brothers and sisters and our love for our Savior.

You never know who is looking for happiness, or who is looking to find truth. I testify to you that following Jesus Christ does bring happiness and He is truth. We never know how we, personally, can help others by our testimonies of Jesus Christ.

I love my Savior, I am grateful for the people that I have had a chance to meet. I'm grateful that He and His gospel is in my life and i have this time to teach others and help others find happiness. It wont stop for me after my mission, I will continue to do my best at talking to people I come in contact with. "You'll be amazed of what you find."
I love this gospel with all my heart. I'm very grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for the Atonement. I love being a missionary and serving the Lord my God. Remember who you are and what you stand for!