Monday, February 3, 2014

Transfer 15, Week 1, Lakes Zone, Desert Breeze Ward‏

Dear Family,
Wow! This week was awesome! Probably the most spiritual week of my mission! 
So first off, I'm not sick anymore! So that's a huge blessing!

So to get down to business, this week was very great! We finished our visits for the Elder Holland visit and with a combination between us and the ward we were able to visit every member in the ward! On our visits this last Thursday we decided to follow up on one of the people that we dropped the flyer off to last week. Its a part member couple and he has not been active since he was 13 years old. Kristi, his girlfriend, goes off and on to a christian church. We have stopped by for a few months now and we were able to teach parts of the Restoration to her but all the other times he has just talked to us outside the gate of their apartment. So this Thursday we follow up with the invitation to stake conference we made last week. He opens the gate and asks us to come in. We have an awkward conversation for a few minutes and then Kristi all of the sudden asks us what we think Godliness is. We told her of the Christlike Attributes and some other aspects that could make a person Godly. Then she asked us if someone that doesn't believe in God could still be Godly. So we told her that you could still poses qualities and not be sure of the source. THEN she asked what the meaning of life was. She told us that she bought this christian self-help book that talked about it. Then Elder Till brought out Alma 34:32 "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." Then she said, 'Thats all I need to know! you just told me in one sentence what I need to know. I don't need to read this book' (referring to the book she bought).Then she said to her boyfriend, 'Can I tell them?' He said yes and she told us how each time we have knocked on their door they have been about to break up. Every time! Then this last time we dropped the flyer off, they were in a fight, and then they both read this flyer about bringing your families to church. She said that all of this is a sign that she needs to listen to what we have to say. We also talked about their (Steve and Kristi's) difference of opinions concerning religion (he believe in science and she believes in basic christian beliefs). We acted as mediators while they were trying to find common ground. (by the way, science totally makes sense with the Gospel. We just had to help him understand how his views correspond to her beliefs). So we committed her to read the Restoration and Plan of Salvation pamphlets, read 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World', and watch "Lord, I believe" by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. She Said she would and that she would pray whether or not this was true. It was awesome! MIRACLES ARE REAL!

Also, this past weekend Elder Jeffery R. Holland and Elder Jim L. Wright came to our Stake Conference! It was so great!  We Got a picture with him!!! So awesome! In the Saturday night session we got to sit on the stand because there were not enough seats for investigators (that was kinda a hassle) and Sunday morning we revoked our reserved seating so that the investigators who came late could all sit in the chapel. but it was so great! He told some great stories to help investigators and it was very missionary minded! 

Well I better go! I love you all and I hope you have a blessed week!
Love, 
Elder John 

Miracles are real! If I were to define a miracle I would say that it is something that we cannot understand but that works out for our good. Miracles happen everyday and we should try to be aware of them, even if we cannot comprehend them. Elder James E. Talmage said, 'To deny the actuality of miracles on the grounds that, because one cannot comprehend the means, the reported results are fictitious, is to arrogate to the human mind the attribute of omniscience. By Implying that what man cannot comprehend cannot be, and that therefore he is able to comprehend all that is.' Let us know be so prideful as to believe that we know more than God. Look for miracles and you will find them.

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