Faith Precedes the Miracle

Hello! Gotta make it quick because we have LOTS of work to accomplish.

Springtime is so pretty here! There are beautiful Azalea bushes and blossom trees everywhere. It is so green and there are a lot of gross bugs coming out. We went over to Stanley's house this weekend and planted a garden for him. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, marigolds, and spinach! It was so fun. I can't wait to have my own garden. 

 

I went to my first crawfish party.  The food was pretty good.  We ate fried corn on the cob. I didn't even know there was such a thing.

 

(this is a picture of Macy's plate)

Nothing too exciting happened this week but we worked hard!  Sister Maxfield and I started to play a game that a lot of missionaries play when they tract or when they talk to new people.  So our companion has to pick one word that we have to work into the sentence when we are out knocking on doors. I have only done it once and my word was really easy. The word was gnome. So I knocked on a door and the smell of weed came rushing out of that door (that's a whole other story)-- Anyways we talked about the Book of Mormon and I said, "I gnome that this book is true."  Then it was my turn to give Sister Maxfield a word so I gave her "squirrel".  She never did use it that day so it's still her turn.  Hopefully next week I will have some funny stories for you because of that game. 

 

We went to the Women's Conference on Saturday with two of our investigators.  The spirit was so strong and they really enjoyed all the messages, especially President Eyring's talk.  In the beginning, it's hard to explain to investigators the miracle there is in being able to hear a living Apostle of Jesus Christ teach us gospel truths and give us guidance in the latter days.

 

Lately we have had some run ins with "false prophets".   People seriously go around and call themselves prophets. We have a new investigator and we taught her the Restoration.  Then she told us about a man she met who called himself a prophet and he told her lots of things that she hopes will come true.  She asked us if we truly believed there was only one living prophet and we said "Yes, we absolutely believe that."  Then we told her about President Monson. She just kept bringing up that this other guy was probably a real prophet and she could not accept that there is only one living prophet so I took Aunt Jamie's advice and just bore my testimony. When all else fails bear testimony. I told her that God has called only one to lead the church today and he is the prophet of the world not just the church. I bore testimony of the correct priesthood authority and how that sets us apart from any other church.  That discussion led us into the apostasy. We told her that after Jesus Christ and the apostles were killed there was so much religious confusion and so many people claimed to have the truth; but their hearts were far from the Savior. I just know that Joseph Smith is truly a prophet and I have such a strong testimony of the priesthood. I have seen so much since I have been here and I have come to know that the priesthood is soooooooo real. I have been able to see miracles on my mission because of it. I can't ever doubt it now!!

 

I watched President Monson's little video biography on lds.org. It is an hour long but I highly recommend that everyone watches it! He really is a prophet of God and he is SO FUNNY! I am so grateful that our world has a living prophet to guide us and give us direction through these hard times and I am so excited for General Conference. It is going to be different watching here than at Temple Square-- a lot more relaxing, that's for sure!  And the bonus is that I get to watch all four sessions!

 

President Thomas S. Monson said: "Faith precedes the miracle."  President Monson knows what's up!  We hear a lot lately about having faith and expecting miracles and I know it is for a reason.  These are tough times and there are many trials experienced all over the world.  Trials humble us and bring us closer to God.  It is hard to remember, but our trials can be a blessing if we allow them to humble us and change us.  Heavenly Father allows us to experience trials because he loves us and is helping us to rise up to a greater purpose.  Have faith!

D&C 121:7-8... "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;  And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

Love you all!

Thanks to everyone for the awesome letters and emails! They made my day. Jared, I think you read my mind. I have been studying up on angels and trying to figure all of that out and you answered my question exactly. I printed it out and I am putting it in my sheet protector in my mission/life binder!  I am so happy to hear that your little family is doing so well.

 

Kendall gets to put her papers in soon! YAY!

Sister Park