Another week has come and gone and this last week was pretty significant in that it was spring break for all the children here! A vast majority of them went out of town this week - so we didn't get to see very many of the people we typically work with, but it was still a pretty sweet week! Plus, the weather was pretty nice all week so that was a huge benefit.
So far as other things go, this week was pretty normal. We started out last Monday with a sweet dinner - I had curry for the first time (that I can recall) and it was pretty delicious! Then we got to visit with a pretty cool family. We had a good discussion with them and they showed us this stray cat that had adopted their home and that had thumbs. Yes thumbs. You read that correctly. It literally has like an extra finger that's shorter than the rest on the side of it's paw. It's really odd looking... But anyway, Tuesday flew by with a service opportunity in the morning and then I made some delicious peanut butter chocolate bar things for class and we got to see a couple people throughout the day. With one family we watched this sweet mormon message, check it out:HERE! It's a pretty good reminder of how important it is to be kind to others, especially if you want or expect them to be kind to you. Then we had a pretty good scripture study class that night focused on preparing for conference and in order to that learning more about recognizing the spirit.
Then came Wednesday - which came and went like a flash - since we started out the day with service at the hope center and it seemed to just disappear after that. We had a pretty good day though, with a good bit of tracting and a fantastic dinner. During my studies this week I started reviewing the October 2014 conference in preparation for conference in a couple weeks and so on Wednesday I read a couple awesome talks one of which had this sweet quote from Elder Robbins:"Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments (see Matthew 22:37–39). It is forgetting which way we face. And yet,we have all made that mistake because of the fear of men." It's important to recognize the order of the two great commandments, but it's also vital to remember to follow and apply both of them - I've heard people say that they love God, but haven't shown love to His children - so how can they possibly love God? It's something I've been thinking about a lot as both of these commandments build on and support each other to helping us become more like Christ. So anyway, on Thursday we had a pretty odd day - though it was pretty typical through the morning since we had weekly planning and studies and all that. But, in the afternoon it started raining - luckily we weren't planning on doing too much tracting today since we had the privilege to go to the temple to do baptisms with Michelle. She was supposed to meet the youth and us down there, since they work down in the city, but they ended up not being able to make it for various reasons and so we got to help out with the baptisms and it was a pretty neat experience! It was good to be able to go to the temple, for it truly is "The House of the Lord"!
So on Friday we got to spend time with a few awesome folks, but before I get to talking about Friday, I wanted to share this quote from President Uchtdorf that is soooooo true. It's pretty ridiculous how true it is - and it was quite evident to me on Friday. He said: "The Savior has told us in our day, “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”The more we incline our hearts and minds toward God, the more heavenly light distills upon our souls. And each time we willingly and earnestly seek that light, we indicate to God our readiness to receive more light. Gradually, things that before seemed hazy, dark, and remote become clear, bright, and familiar to us.By the same token, if we remove ourselves from the light of the gospel, our own light begins to dim—not in a day or a week but gradually over time—until we look back and can’t quite understand why we had ever believed the gospel was true. Our previous knowledge might even seem foolish to us because what once was so clear has again become blurred, hazy, and distant." So, on Friday we helped a sister who was baptized a little over a year ago organize her storage unit and it was interesting to see how even though her life has not been easy by any means over the last while, she still clings to the truth that she's found in the gospel and strives to live it as well as she can. Then that evening we got to have dinner with a couple that's not been to church in many years, and it was interesting to see how content they were with their current circumstances. They say they still believe in the church, but through a variety of events decided they wouldn't come back to church. So, it was a pretty interesting day. We watched the new Mormon message with them found: HERE! It's a quote from Elder Perry about the 10 commandments and is super good.
Finally came Saturday, where people started coming back home from Spring Break so it was pretty good. We talked with a few people about the marked Book of Mormon deal that I mentioned last week and they said they would read through it so that's pretty exciting :) A quick quote from my reading of Elder Andersen's talk: "Why does the Lord allow the evil speaking to chase after the good? One reason is that opposition against the things of God sends seekers of truth to their knees for answers." Then came Sunday and we had a pretty sweet day! We had a very good sacrament meeting, with the speakers assigned to focus on the atonement, so that was nice. One speaker was the chorister, and she included 78 hymn titles in her talk... it was pretty clever and quite enjoyable, while still being very uplifting! Then we got to have dinner with an awesome family in the ward before heading out to try and visit with some people before school starts back up again. For our main deal in the evening with visited with a family that has a daughter turning 8 next month, to review the principles in the missionary lessons with her before she gets baptized and it was super fun. It's always interesting to see just how much these 7 or so year old kids know! I can't imagine that I knew that much when I was 7... but I guess I probably did... oh well! Just goes to show me that by the time you're 8 you're typically pretty ready to get baptized.
Before I go, I wanted to share with y'all a sweet quote from a talk I read this morning by Elder Klebingat: "Whenever the adversary cannot persuade imperfect yet striving Saints such as you to abandon your belief in a personal and loving God, he employs a vicious campaign to put as much distance as possible between you and God. The adversary knows that faith in Christ—the kind of faith that produces a steady stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles—goes hand in hand with a personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right. For that reason he will seek access to your heart to tell you lies—lies that Heavenly Father is disappointed in you, that the Atonement is beyond your reach, that there is no point in even trying, that everyone else is better than you, that you are unworthy, and a thousand variations of that same evil theme.
As long as you allow these voices to chisel away at your soul, you can’t approach the throne of God with real confidence. Whatever you do, whatever you pray for, whatever hopes for a miracle you may have, there will always be just enough self-doubt chipping away at your faith—not only your faith in God but also your confidence in yourself. Living the gospel in this manner is no fun, nor is it very healthy. Above all, it is completely unnecessary! The decision to change is yours—and yours alone." I hope y'all have a great week! I've gotta get moving on to other things, but I hope you know that I love y'all!
As long as you allow these voices to chisel away at your soul, you can’t approach the throne of God with real confidence. Whatever you do, whatever you pray for, whatever hopes for a miracle you may have, there will always be just enough self-doubt chipping away at your faith—not only your faith in God but also your confidence in yourself. Living the gospel in this manner is no fun, nor is it very healthy. Above all, it is completely unnecessary! The decision to change is yours—and yours alone." I hope y'all have a great week! I've gotta get moving on to other things, but I hope you know that I love y'all!
'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson
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