Familie und Freunde!
Where to start? Well, I guess I'll start with THIS IS THE WEEK. Sister Hemmi and I are shooting for 21 lessons again. Wish us faith and the Lord's blessings. We're really pumped. It's about as exciting as making a game plan on P-day how we can finish cleaning, grocery shopping before we go out and see something. I'll tell you about that. We created a plan, detailed, who would get what, and planned the route in the store that would take us the fastest to all the items we wanted. We even timed it. We walked into the store at 00:07:20 minutes and stepped in line at 00:12:07. We were out of the store at 00:17:24. And we walked into our apartment at 00:27:30. That was all withwalking there which takes about 7-8 minutes. Obviously, we smashed any record made. I thought about that afterwords and thought, do I have the same excitement and motivation to create a game plan for our area here and the people we're teaching? It was such a wonderful example to use of what we're really capable of when we plan, prepare, believe, and stand still doing it cheerfully, all things that lie in our power as we wait for the hand of the Lord to be revealed (D&C 123:16-17). Never had so much fun cleaning and shopping before.
Ya, missionary work is so amazingly fun. If it's not, somethings wrong because the Lord's ''WORK and glory are to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,'' which to me means, you're happy doing it. It means choosing to be happy doing it and willing to do it. It's a lot easier allowing someone to help you or even request it rather than someone coming in and telling you all the things you need help with. God won't do that, but the blessings are withheld and consequences are in place. I just love agency. I love having the power to do something and meet challenges willingly. It's like a big game. I love games.
I learned about experiences this week. Sister Hemmi and I have had incredible conversations, truly inspired and this came up the other day. I learned that experiences are required for us to acutally appreciate the Book of Mormon. Without having first experienced something similar to whatever is happening in the book, it's just a book full of neat stories and wars. I didn't ever read the Book of Mormon and, after reading ''and they murmured'' ten zillion times and then think a second longer about it afterwords. But it was when I realized that, ya I've complained in my life and it made things harder and the people around me didn't like to be with me, which was also lame. Then is when I realized Nephi put up with TONS of crap and still loved them. THAT'S hard. Then I try complaining less. Then I'm happier. I know that when I've actually identified how my life relates, it comes alive.
That's how movies work as we know. We can relate to the emotions and people in the story. So, because experiences are necessary, then opposition is necessary or else we won't know between good and evil. And if we don't know between good and evil, we'll never understand what will make us happy or sad or if anything is worth learning or progressing for. And if we don't understand, we can't be edified by the Spirit who testifies of truth. And if we're not edified by truth, then we cannot feel of God's love which is manifest to us through the Spirit. And if we don't feel of His love, grace and mercy, we won't have the motivation to live for anything that will bring lasting peace, joy, and happiness.
Our job as members is to help people relate their life stories to those in the Book of Mormon and Bible so that they can begin tounderstand what they mean and how they apply and be nourished by the good word of God. And when they understand, they'll feel the Spirit, and in essence God's love, ''which is the it is the most desirable above all things.'' (1 Nephi 11:22)
That's how movies work as we know. We can relate to the emotions and people in the story. So, because experiences are necessary, then opposition is necessary or else we won't know between good and evil. And if we don't know between good and evil, we'll never understand what will make us happy or sad or if anything is worth learning or progressing for. And if we don't understand, we can't be edified by the Spirit who testifies of truth. And if we're not edified by truth, then we cannot feel of God's love which is manifest to us through the Spirit. And if we don't feel of His love, grace and mercy, we won't have the motivation to live for anything that will bring lasting peace, joy, and happiness.
Our job as members is to help people relate their life stories to those in the Book of Mormon and Bible so that they can begin tounderstand what they mean and how they apply and be nourished by the good word of God. And when they understand, they'll feel the Spirit, and in essence God's love, ''which is the it is the most desirable above all things.'' (1 Nephi 11:22)
I feel like I finally have been opened up to truths that I've always heard about, yet now I know that they are true and what they mean. I love the gospel and know it's true and am grateful for the tests that come because they bring me closer to our Father in Heaven who loves me. I leave my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
We did some exchanges and we went by on a less active that we'd never met or heard from. After 3 clingals which I hardly do, she let us in, and instead of being yelled at, she let us in and we talked with her for an hour in her dark apartment drinking mineral water. So neat :).
Love you all!
God's blessings and have a wonderful week!
Sister Packer
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