Dear Home~
Missionary work in Lake Butler is going good. We have quite a few people who are progressing toward baptism and a possibility of several others. It seems as though we are being led to the right places at the right times. We have a baptismal date set for the 5th of September, for a woman by the name of Ena. She absolutely loves to read the scriptures and she really enjoyed coming to church yesterday. She has a daughter and two grandchildren who are some of the others that we think may be ready for baptism, if not now, then soon. We have another individual named Marla who also is very faithful in her studying and praying and she will be baptized next transfer. It would seem that the only real work that Elder Brown and I are doing is being present during our conversations with these individuals and families. I know that the conversion process is completely out of my power, and really, the only thing I can do is continue to study and continue to work hard and to keep myself worthy of the Holy Ghost so that Heavenly Father can work through me as His messenger. I had a neat realization yesterday as I was reading JESUS THE CHRIST, I am near the end of the book, and so the chapter I was reading dealt with the Last Supper and the garden of Gethsemane. In the Savior's last prayer with His disciples, He said something that stuck out to me:
"And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." (John 17:19)
Jesus kept Himself worthy so that through Him His disciples may be blessed. I thought it was a neat example and something to take time to really ponder. It goes to show you that when you do what is right and keep Heavenly Father's commandments, He will not only bless you, but those whom you love.
I am sad to hear of Isaac's fall, but I am confident that he will be okay. Grandpa MacKay sent me a picture and it took me a few seconds to figure out who it was, but I soon realized it was my younger cousin. I am amazed that he fell so far and I am even more amazed at the fact that he is courageously fighting through the pain. To share something that I thought was very unique and special, two days ago we gave a blessing to a nine year-old girl; she suffers from epilepsy and due to the seizures she also has memory loss. As the anointing and sealing were finished, the young girl was left in tears and as she sat in the chair a few moments all of her lost memories returned and she shared them with all of us in the room. The next day when we came over to teach her grandmother (Ena) she shared with us her experience and told us what happened as I placed the consecrated oil on her head. She told us that as the oil landed on her head she found herself walking in the forest. As she was walking, two individuals came up to her and began to speak with her about her life and asked her how she was doing, and so on...She didn't tell us any more than that, but Elder Brown showed her a picture of the First Vision and asked her if these two beings looked like the ones in the picture, she said yes. How special a thing to know that she spoke with Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son as we gave her a blessing. I know that with all the prayers that are being given on behalf of Isaac, that he will be able to make it through. Heavenly Father knows each of us and so does Jesus Christ; They won't leave Isaac comfortless, but They will be with him, just as they were this young girl.
About Elder Bagley, I thought pretty much the same thing about him (from Wendy: his mom sent me an email saying how much Elder Bagley enjoyed his time with Austin). In fact, the very first day of the transfer, I wrote how I felt he and I would get along and work well together in my journal. I know he'll be successful the rest of his mission. He is a good example of someone who cares.
Tell Aaron to read the scriptures if he wants to be a "freakin' Einstein". Here is why he will become smarter as he reads the scriptures:
"He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words light and truth. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers." (Doctrine & Covenants 93: 28,36,39)
The more light and truth you fill yourself with, the smarter you'll get. As you are obedient and keep the commandments, you gain more intelligence. The less light and truth you fill yourself with, the less intelligence you'll have. Even worse, as you are disobedient, you lose intelligence. So there is the secret to life. :) I for one, know that there is no way I could know any of the things I know were it not for the continual study of scriptures. Prayer enhances study. The things I write are things the Spirit teaches me. If I can be taught such things, so can you! I dare you to try! One more thing:
"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether or not it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17)
So if you give it a try, you will be able to know whether or not what I am telling you is true. What do you think? Will you do it? The best part is, if you don't want anyone to know, you don't have to tell them--you can choose to do it on your own, away from everyone else. I promise you'll see a difference in the way you think, speak, and act. You'll be raised to a higher plain of thought and you'll know more than you ever did before. I love you, Bro, and I know you will be okay. You are very intelligent as it is, you just haven't realized it yet. Try this experiment and I promise you will know.
I love you all and I pray for each of you daily. Tell Grandpa Harold that I hope he is doing well and that he is in my prayers as well. Tell Isaac I am rooting for him and that he also is in my prayers. Thanks for the package, Mom...Tell Dad that if he hasn't bought me any socks that he doesn't need to worry, I went to Lake City Mall and got some UA socks for buy 1 get the other half off (mind you I just so happened to be at the mall the only week they were putting UA socks on sale--pretty cool!).
I love you and I'll talk to you soon,
Austin
No comments:
Post a Comment