Good Morning!!!
Or afternoon or night. Depends on when you read this. But my week has been really good! Our area here in Laoag is really progressing right now, and it is so fun to see. We have some really good investigators that are really progressing right now, and there will probably be 4 or 5 baptisms next transfer!
I think that I'll tell you about just one right now though.
Her name is Marigi and she is 22 years old. She is studying to be a doctor in manila, but she's here for her vacation. She really wants to know for herself if this is the true church, and she is doing everything that she needs to to find out. She has that faith that God will answer her prayers, and so she makes sure she reads every day and that she is at church every week, and she prays with all her heart to know, and I have seen her testimony growing. It is so fun to teach her because she really likes to learn, and she always has good questions that make us think.
All the others are doing good as well! Maybe I'll tell you about some others next week!
Yesterday though, we talked about sacrifice at church, and why it is so essential. Ever since the world began, sacrifice was a part of God's law for His children. Before Christ came, it was in the form of an animal sacrifice, but after he came, he fulfilled the Mosaic law, and gave a new law for us.
In 3 Nephi Chapter 9, verse 19-20 we read,
“Ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood, … and your burnt offerings shall be done away. … And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit”
To be honest, a broken heart and a contrite spirit is really hard to give. It means that we feel true sorrow for all of our sins, and that we are willing to humble ourselves before the Lord, and submit to His will. And that can be a tough thing many times. But that is where we really see who is truly converted and who is just going through the motions. When living the Gospel no longer becomes easy, but becomes a real sacrifice, what do you do? Do you choose to continue to do what is right, even in the face of great opposition, or do you give up and give in to the temptations of Satan? That is where we really learn about ourselves and our conversion.
Here in the Philippines I have seen the sacrifice of many wonderful members as they try and live the Gospel. There is a recent convert who instead of selling her goods on sunday, she chose to keep the Sabbath day Holy. There was another who canceled his plans to go work in another country to accept a calling of the Lord. Another closed his store every sunday. Many others paid the fare to get to church, out of complete faith, trusting that God would provide, and still others have walked for miles to just get to church.
Not all of our sacrifrices will be the same, and God does not require the same of everyone. But my question for each one of you, is what sacrifice does God want from you right now. What do you need to change in your life to live more in line with His teachings, even if it may not be easy. I know that if you really think about that, the Spirit will tell you what you need to do, and you will be able make that change. As you strive to make those changes, the Lord has promised that we will be blessed with more blessings than we imagine. The Lord will honor those who sacrifice for him.
Have a marvelous monday!
Elder Childs
No comments:
Post a Comment