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I'm grateful for this week. This week has been eventful. We picked up a new investigator named, Tyrone (Ty) and he is pretty awesome. He is 63 years old and has been considered a "church hopper" in the past. He has met with elders before when he lived in Ohio, and has many Mormon friends & associates. When I look at him, I see Joseph Smith...someone who was seeking the truth wherever he went and in every church he visited. Tyrone has so much faith right now and desires to come closer to Jesus Christ. This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to give a talk in Sacrament meeting. Although I forgot half my talk, I relied wholly on the spirit and shared a message about faith and repentance. That night, we met with Ty and he thanked me for my talk on faith and said that he really felt the spirit.
I'm grateful for the authority I have to teach God's children. On Tuesday, Sister Froisland and I (we went on exchanges) taught Ty the Restoration. He expressed that he loves the discipline, organization, and simplicity of our church. At the end, he even said the closing prayer and asked for inspiration from the Book of Mormon! I am so grateful for Ty and his diligence in coming to church, praying, and pondering on the words of the scriptures. When I see our Heavenly Father's children progress, and repent--make changes in their lives-- I am filled with complete joy and an indescribable love. I'm filled with gratitude for my Heavenly Father and the Plan of Happiness which allows us to return back to His presence. I'm so grateful!
I'm grateful for the privilege I had to shake the firm hand of ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS, an apostle of the Lord...and sit very close--front & center-- to hear him speak to us by the power of God. All of the Carlsbad missionaries also got to hear (in the same meeting) from Elder Carl B. Cook of the Seventy and our amazing mission president, President Thomas! Sitting in the same room as the Lord's servants, singing hymns and rejoicing in the Lord our God, is an experience that I will never forget. I got chills. Elder Oaks counseled us and pleaded with us to REPENT. Repent today, repent tomorrow, repent every week! Repentance is a joy. Repentance is all about the sacrament. Repentance is change! We have the privilege to be forgiven and renew our baptismal covenants every single week! Do you know how important this is? Do you know how important you are to your Father in Heaven? YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!Of course we will fall down, scrape our knees, make mistakes, sin, and make even more mistakes...but the atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to be clean, and to change.
I'm grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. "A most significant evidence of our conversion and of how we feel about the gospel in our own lives is our willingness to share it with others." Are we walking the walk or just talking the talk? "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, and we prophesy of Christ"...but do we walk with Christ? Elder Carl B. Cook shared with us Moses 6:32-34, "Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance...Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and thou shalt abide in my, and I in you; therefore WALK WITH ME." Families and friends, I know that missionary work may be hard, it may be scary...but we are servants of the Lord! We are of a HUGE influence in His work. We are all important to the salvation of our brothers and sisters. "Now, some of you might not feel worthy of such high praise. You might think you are too insignificant to have a meaningful influence on others. Perhaps you don't even consider yourself a "disciple of faith" because you sometimes struggle with doubt or fear" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf). But whatever our age, capacity, church calling, or location, we are as one called to the work to help the Savior in His harvest of souls until He comes again."
I'm grateful for my Savior, who died for me.
I'm grateful for repentance; life is filled with second chances.
I'm grateful for the hope of eternal life.
I'm grateful for my knowledge of eternal families.
I'm grateful to be a missionary.
I'm grateful for my family.
I'm grateful for The Book of Mormon.
I'm grateful to be serving in California.
I'm grateful for my companion.
I'm grateful for the ocean breeze.
I'm grateful for the summer sun in November.
I'm grateful for the Thanksgiving meal we are about to have.
I'm grateful for our prophet, Thomas S. Monson.
I'm grateful for Oregon...and trees.
I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father who loves me.
Let us be filled with thanks towards the one who granted us all these many blessings! "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen" (Alma 26:37). Go serve someone this week! Share the joy of the gospel with your neighbors. I LOVE YOU ALL!! Please keep Tyrone in your prayers! And have a happy thanksgiving
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