Well this is my last week of training. Hallelujah. We did lots this week. First of all, an update on Michael. He is all set to be baptized this Sunday! We are officially going to begin planning as soon as we talk to him tomorrow. We both have no idea what to do when it comes to planning a baptism...so it will be an adventure! Haha. But he is doing so good. After we talked to him on Wednesday last week he shared some feelings he has had, and his testimony is growing so much! I have to say that's the best part about missionary work. I love being an instrument in the Lord's hands in helping others learn about Jesus Christ's gospel.
We did service for a couple that we met awhile back. We made fresh apple cider from an old fashioned cider press! It was so fun!! We even used apples from their tree. And they took pictures so I'll maybe have him send them to you guys. They're just this super nice old couple and they aren't members so we're hoping to teach them. I love meeting people though. They are the cutest, sweetest people ever. They invited us in afterwards to have donuts and cider, and we just talked for a little while. Pray for them! Their names are Al and Loretta :)
Then later that night a member took us out to get Chinese food from a buffet. It would have been even better if I hadn't stuffed my face with donuts less than 2 hours earlier. I felt so sick that day. But they kept refilling my glass with cider and giving me more donuts! I don't know how to say no...
Also I broke a chair yesterday...just sitting in it. At a member's home. In the middle of a lesson. At the dinner table. Yikes. Talk about incentive to lose weight... SO embarrassing. They said they were old chairs but still! I guess it was pretty funny though. It was the least graceful fall, and after it fell over I couldn't get out of the position I was in so I kind of just wiggled around on the floor like a fish out of water until I was able to scoot the chair remains from underneath me. I'm not sure what that looked like but the hysterical laughter that came from Sister Johnson tells me I must have looked preeetty silly. Also I bruised my bum so that's sad. Definitely a memorable experience.
We took a group of nonmembers on tour this week who had the BEST questions. They definitely felt the spirit that is there. Those sites are so sacred. They left comments on our referral cards that said it was very uplifting. And at the end they all requested Books of Mormon (except for one lady who apparently already has one...What??) I love Kirtland.
Anyways in my studies this morning I was looking for something I could share today, and I came across two articles in the Ensign from August that were so perfect. I felt like I learned a lot from them, and I needed to hear it. So I thought I would just share.
One was from Dallin H. Oaks, called "In His Own Time, in His Own Way". It was all about receiving personal revelation. He talks about the timing of revelation and shared this story that put it into perspective. "About 35 years ago, when I was president of Brigham Young University, we were making plans to persuade the president of the United States to speak at the university. We had particular times that would suit our convenience, and we had in mind some things we wanted him to say and do while he was there. But all of us were wise enough to know that we could not contact the highest authority in the United States and invite him to come to the BYU campus—even to speak to 26,000 people—and put conditions on his appearance. We knew that in inviting the president, we had to say in effect, 'We will welcome you whenever you can come and for whatever time you choose to be here and for whatever you choose to say and do while you are here. We will accommodate our schedules and our arrangements entirely to your visit.' Now, if that’s the way a community of 26,000 people must approach the highest authority of a nation, it should not be surprising that one person—however important—is in no position to put conditions upon or to impose personal timing upon a visit or communication from the Highest Authority in the universe." We have to understand that the Lord truly works according to timing that suits us best, whether we see it that way or not. He goes on to talk about how revelation is not constant. I was kind of confused by this at first because I thought we had the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, but he says "We pray continuously for guidance, but we shouldn’t expect continuous revelation. We expect continuing revelation, which is the continuing assurance of revelation whenever we seek guidance and our circumstances are such that a wise and loving Lord chooses to give it to us." He also shared a quote by William E Berrett, “Those who pray that the Spirit might give them immediate guidance in every little thing throw themselves open to false spirits that seem ever ready to answer our pleas and confuse us. … The people I have found most confused in this Church are those who seek personal revelations on everything. They want the personal assurance from the Spirit from daylight to dark on everything they do. I say they are the most confused people I know because it appears sometimes that the answer comes from the wrong source.” I just thought it was interesting that he included that. But it makes complete sense. We should trust in the Light of Christ that we all have to know good from bad, and not expect a strong prompting in every situation in which we are placed. He then talks about how revelation is essential in building our testimonies. He says, "Not understanding these principles of revelation, some postpone acknowledging their testimony or their spiritual progress until they have experienced a miraculous event. They fail to realize that with most people--especially those raised in the Church--the precious revelation that gives us a testimony is not an event but a process." SO TRUE! I have seen it with Michael especially. He keeps having these small moments that are so precious, and his testimony would not stand where it is now without all of the small things combined. It was never a huge manifestation that convinced him. It was several small interactions with the spirit.
Last, I just wanted to talk about the other article from Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy. I'll be brief :) He just talks about three conditions of the heart that close us off from receiving revelation, and I think they are common in almost all of us:
1. Hearts burdened by cares and clamor. Sometimes we just have too much going on in our lives--daily demands such as work, school, family, etc--that cause us to forget to slow down and take a moment to remember our Savior.
2. Hearts hardened by sin and unworthiness. I feel that this doesn't necessarily mean that we are committing serious sin all the time (although that certainly will close the channels for revelation). But it could be small transgressions we are not repenting of, or even little things we are neglecting, such as scripture study, prayer, tithing, fasting, etc. We must always be worthy to receive revelation.
3. Hearts malnourished by poor digital diet. "As with so much in life, what we consume is a choice, so if you spend much of your time consuming one kind of message, don't be surprised that you become influenced by it. Spending too much of our time with social media, celebrity or entertainment news, games, and the pursuit of online, time-hungry activities constitutes a poor digital diet."
I would encourage all of us to eliminate these things in our lives. If we truly want answers to our prayers, Heavenly Father wants to give that to us. But we have to receive it. He closed with a quote by Thomas S. Monson: "Remember that one with authority placed his hands on your head at the time of your confirmation and said, 'Receive the Holy Ghost.' Open your hearts, even your very souls, to the special voice which testifies of truth. As the prophet Isaiah primised, 'Thine ears shall hear a word...saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.'
This Church is SO true. It is Christ's Church, and He wants everyone to be a part of it. Keep the prayers coming! They are helping so much. I love you guys and hope to hear from you all :)
Love,
Tayler
No comments:
Post a Comment