Things here in College Park are going well. This last week has been really crazy with all of the meetings and leadership training stuff going on, but we had some very cool experiences.
We got to meet with Austin a couple more times this week, and he is still wanting to be baptized. We talked with his good friend Greg, and he mentioned that Austin might want to get baptized one week sooner!! That is cool because he really wants to get baptized. We have been teaching a lot of the members lately also, and we are trying to help them get excited about missionary work. It seems to be working, but it really is through the members that we will start finding more people to teach. The members are so so crucial in helping this work move forward.
First of all our purpose as missionaries is to help invite others to come unto Christ. We do this by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. As we help others understand they will be able to feel the love of our Heavenly Father more abundantly in our lives. Now each of us are at different stages in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are some who are building their faith in Jesus Christ, those who are repenting, those who are preparing for the ordinance of baptism and confirmation, and receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and then many of us are in the enduring to the end part.
Now the message that missionaries have and the lessons they teach are lessons of happiness. As we listen to them we can have the spirit in our homes and be able to feel of the peace and the love that the message can bring. The lessons they teach are not a one time lesson, and as soon as your baptized you don't need to listen to them any more. As we hear them we will be reminded of the importance of why we are here and of the covenants we make with our Heavenly Father.
Now our Heavenly Father loves us so very much, and he wants us to be happy, and we can feel an increased happiness as we listen to the missionaries. I have said this many times, there are people who are being prepared daily. We just need to go and find them. They are people who we associate with every day. Those we go to school with, those we work with, and our neighbors around us. We have so many opportunities to share the gospel with others we just need to be praying for those opportunities.
There are so many promises through out the scriptures that tell us if we open our mouths then they shall be filled ( D&C 33). But I really like what D&C 100 says. I would invite you to read it and read the promise it gives us if we speak the things our Heavenly Father would have us do. In my last area I was in our ward mission leader came back from a follow up meeting to the Hastening the work broadcast with an area authority. He said one of the talks said somethings that I think is so true.
Some of us look at finding by the spirit to mean we climb into our cars and start driving, and have the spirit say go 3 blocks turn right, then drive 1 mile and turn left. That person in there front yard, yeah talk to them. It would be nice if it worked like that, and sometimes it does. But finding by the spirit means that we go and we talk to those we associate with, and as we speak to them, they will see the light of Christ in your eyes. They will be able to feel the spirit, and have the spirit testify to them of the things which you are talking about. This is what finding by the spirit is.
We are always worried about what they will think of us, but we shouldn't fear. A quote that I love is " True conversion is measured by your desire to share the gospel." When we experience something that we love and something that brings us happiness we want to share it with others. Why should it be different with the gospel? I can promise you that as you try and talk to people about the gospel and you prepare by doing the daily simple things, Pray, Read your scriptures, and look for opportunities to serve.
I would encourage all of you to find out who the missionaries are in you area and have them over for a lesson. They will bring the spirit into your home and you will want to share the gospel. I know this is true.
Some cool talks I would recommend looking at are from last conference by Elder Neil Anderson, titled Its a miracle. It talks about how we can be missionaries in the area we are in.
I wish Y'all the best in this next week and look forward to hearing about your missionary experiences.
Trees Everywhere.
My first cochroach.
No comments:
Post a Comment