General Conference was so incredibly good. I loved it so much but before
we get in there I figured I should tell y'all about my week.
First
things first: WE MOVED! We are now in a different renovated room in our
motel. The Egburts have fixed up this room so nicely. Our view from our
room is now the brothels and train but... even though we are closer...
it is quieter for some reason. It is so much nicer.
The highlight of our proselyting week is when we
went to see our lady who calls us her gypsies and we found out...
METROPOLIS USE TO BE HUGE! I thought it was ironically named, but it use
to be a big city/train stop before the great depression and drought
claimed it. They brought out pictures and it use to have a giant five
star hotel and a three story school house. And there is still remnants
of pavement we have never noticed. Snuff, her son, took us on a tour out
to where the last run down bits of the hotel and school are and we
walked around. Here are pictures from the school house.
Highlight of the week was of course General Conference which is
where the leaders of the church--the prophet and the apostles--speak to
the church as a whole. It is done in two hour sessions. We spent every
session with a different person and every session we were with people we
love!
It typical fashion we gathered around the TV and
watched in our comfy clothes with a blanket and pillow. I took TONS of
notes. However at one of the houses we were at the teenagers in the
family got a little too cozy and where feeling the "comforter" a little
too much and (in typical fashion) fell asleep. To combat this habit the
mom got herself a spray bottle to wake them up. However, she decided at
one point to get out her slipper and teasingly slapped them to wake up!
hahaha. Then the kids were complaining "But Dad's sleeping!!!" to which
she took off her slipper and slipper slapped the dad. He sheepishly woke
up and smiled at all of us. It was pretty funny.
I loved every talk. I honestly can't choose a
favorite. There's Holland's Defend your Faith talk, Eyring on leaving an
inheritance of hope, Uchtdorf on gratitude (which I can already see a
mormon message with it in the background), Bednar on the load, Packer's
powerful testimony of Christ, President Monson on loving others. Some of
the talks from members of the Seventy were my favorite as well--Zwick,
Stevenson, Aidukaitis.
What really impressed me this time around is that
these men are people that we sustain as prophet, seers, and revelators.
If they do what we claim them to be able to do (which I believe they do)
they are the people that God has revealed things that will happen in
the next few years. They probably know what calamities will come. They
know what we need and how to prepare ourselves. However the prophet
doesn't ask us to move to a different state, to run from the disasters
which are to come, he doesn't preach of calamities and heart ache. He
speaks of hope and love.
It's amazing. I think of the pioneers of the early
church. When the prophet Brigham Young told them they were moving across
the plains to what would be Utah, they left. Yesterday the prophet
asked us to be kind and loving to our fellow men and most importantly to
our families. I was thinking which command would be harder--moving
across the plains or being loving to everyone. One is a one time big
decision, but the other is making a permanent change in our behavior and
thought, a decision you will have to make over and over again. Loving
everyone, having charity, it much much harder to actually do and
accomplish. Instead of a big act of faith, it is a small act of faith
you have to do over and over again. And it really hit me that above
everything else that the world needs--it's not a new political reign,
it's not a call to repentance, it's not better food storage--it's love.
I've seen that a lot out here. There are too many people who are in need
of love.
Elder Ballard (from the Quorum of the
Twelve) told us to share what we learn in Preach My Gospel (our
missionary manual) with our families and have them share back what they
learn. So I hope to do that soon. This week I was focusing on Christlike
Attributes which is the section we use to help us become more like
christ, but I hope to start from the beginning of the teaching section
and focus on a principle per week. But what hit me this week that above
all else, in order to represent him you must become like him. After that
nothing else matters. If you want to invite people to come closer to
Christ, you must follow him and become like him first. I don't think the
mission will change me, but I do hope that it will refine me.
Hope you all watch at least one of my favorite. If
you don't watch the whole thing, the one I would recommend to
anyone--regardless of faith--is Uchtdorf's talk. It only takes 15
minutes and I swear it will be worth it.
Have a great week!
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