We had so many AMAZING devotionals this week and I had some really good studies this week as well. I wanted to share with you all you guys.
The first one was from Terrel Gibbons and his wife. They talked about plain and precious things restored through The Restoration; there was five of them.
Five Truths from the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
1. God's heart beats in empathy with ours feeling our joy and sharing our pain.
When Joseph Smith walked into the Sacred Grove to kneel down and pray which church he should join, he did not have the knowledge of the characteristics of God; the God of the Restoration. That he loves us and wants to hear from us. He referenced Moses 7 when it talks about Enoch and Enoch asks God "How canst thou weep?" God was weeping because his children were not getting along. He loves us so much. These characteristics were not known before the Restoration. They also talked about Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon where it mentions the word "nourish" 22 times, preserve 20 times, and grieve 8 times. Also, in Jacob 5 when it talks about the olive trees-we are the olive trees.
2. We are eternal beings who lived with a Heavenly Father. We chose to be here, we have agency, we are completely responsible for our choices.
3. Life is not a tragic fall but an educative assent.
I really loved that because they said that a lot of times people or religions focus on the fall of Adam as a bad thing. But it wasn't a tragic fall but rather an educative assent. Adam and Eve walked in such unity as a couple and worked together in equality. When Eve partook of the fruit, she understood that if she ate the fruit she would gain wisdom. In this way she would be able to keep all the commandments which God had given her. The first commandment was to multiply and replenish the earth. She knew that through eating the fruit she would gain the wisdom about how to accomplish that first commandment. Eve shouldn't be looked on as sinful or weak, but wise.
4. Christ is the healer of a wounded humanity not our rescuer from depravity.
He heals, he restores, he makes whole. He shall heal His people from their sins. We aren't sinners in need of saving, we are diseased and wounded in need of healing. I really loved this because, I love how it gives us a characteristic of our Savior. He is truly here to heal us.
5. God has the desire and the capacity to save the entire human family.
We are asked to participate with God and the Godhead to heal the wounded. Then he told us a really cool story about a guy that was talking to one of his friends who had asked why we do baptisms for the dead. He gave an example that said If we were to be invited to a dinner with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ; everyone deserves an invite. Even though each person doesn't have to accept it, everyone deserves to have an invite. That is why we do baptism for the dead. I loved that analogy.
God will save all His children that He can. The day of judgement will be a day of mercy and love. A day when broken hearts are healed, when tears of grief are replaced with tears of gratitude, when all will be made right.
That was the devotional from the Gibbons~it was so good!
Then for personal study I read a talk entitled "Using the Gift of Supernal Prayer" by Richard G. Scott.
It talked about how prayer is most effective when we strive to be clean and obedient with worthy motives and are willing to do what He asks. Humble, trusting prayer brings direction and peace. Don't worry about your clumsily expressed feelings, just talk to your compassionate, understanding Father. You are His precious child whom He loves perfectly and wants to help. As you pray recognize that your Father in Heaven is near and He is listening. Change from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking the things He wants for you. Pray even when you have no desire to pray. Never feel you are too unworthy to pray. His answers will seldom come while you are praying, even when you may plead for an immediate response, rather He will prompt you in quiet moments when the spirit can most effectively touch your mind and heart. God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes, your character will grow and your faith will increase. There is a relationship between this two; the greater your faith the stronger your character. An increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith. Prayers are answered in 3 ways; peace and comfort, unsettling and stupors of thought, or no response at all. But to not get upset when those responses don't come; we need to trust in God's timing and that He has a greater plan for us.
Then I read another really good talk during personal study called "The Power of Patience" by Robert C. Oaks.
He says patience may well be thought of as a gateway virtue, contributing to the growth of its fellow virtues of forgiveness, tolerance, and faith. Without patience gracing our soul, we would be seriously lacking with a respect to a Christ-like character. Christ truly suffered and bore and endured all things. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives on His time table. To help in acquiring patience we must realize how bad we need it to become more Christ-like and draw closer to our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ.
That was an incredible talk as well.
Then, we had a devotional given by David Urlich. He talked about how out of crisis comes opportunity. What we are experiencing now will come back to bless us. He asked us to ask ourselves the question, "Who can I serve today?" Then he gave us four points that can help us in our lives. Which are:
1. Learn Always
2. Move Forward
3. Build Relationships
4. Focus on What CAN be Done.
He also talked about the importance of asking ourselves the question, "What did I learn?" He said to look back with resilience, move forward with success, what do I want, what do I want to be known for. When we know what we want then we can go to the Lord. He really wanted us to focus on the question "What can I do to find opportunity in this crisis?"
It was such a cool devotional and we are so blessed to hear from so many incredible people.
Then I read another really good talk by Dallin H. Oaks during personal study entitled "He Heals the Heavy Laden."
Some notes I took from that talk were; the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ is available for EVERY affliction in moratlity. Christ healed every sickness and every disease among the people.
Reading this talk reminded me of the devotional given by the Gibbons that I mentioned in the beginning which talked about how we are a diseased people in need of healing. That our disease, or our wounds, might not always be physical. They might be mental or emotional, and how Christ can heal us from those. Those wounds and diseases can also be temptations, addictions, or the weaknesses that we have in our lives.
He goes on to say that sometimes we are healed by being given strength, or understanding, or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us. If change is going to happen it will happen according to the will of God. The Atonement also gives us the strength to endure pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. I really loved this because it reminds of how the Atonement isn't just for repentance and for times when we need to make corrections from our mistakes, but also when we are having hard times. The enabling power of the Atonement is such an important and powerful part of the Atonement. The enabling power of the Atonement can help us, it might not take away our trials and our burdens, but it will give us the strength to endure them and to learn from them. I really loved that!
Then we did an activity in our Zone Council where we talked about "What I've learned, what I would tell myself at the beginning of my mission. What advice would I give myself if I could go back and tell myself what I've learned now. Some things that I wrote down were:
1. Before looking outward and putting blame on situations or other people, look inward. Reflect and decide what you could change.
2. Everything that you are teaching the people, also applies to you as well. The Gospel isn't selective; God loves ME.
3. Your happiness and success is up to you. Your mind is powerful, focus on the good. Be positive.
4. Mistakes are okay; you aren't failing-you are learning. Don't be afraid of trying.
5. Charity fixes EVERYTHING. Without we really are nothing.
6. The greatest and only gift you can really give your Father in Heaven is your willingness; so give it to Him.
7. Being shaped and molded and refined is painful but is so worth it. So, allow God to shape you into the potential He knows you have.
8. Nothing stops the Lord's work, He will always find a way.
9. Control what you can and let go of what you can't. Have faith and trust in the Lord.
I loved that activity and the opportunity to reflect on all that I have already learned while out on my mission.
The last thing I wanted to share was from our devotional on Sunday night given by a lady that had grown up in Palestine. Which has actually been taken over, so it is just known as Israel, but she is Palestinian. She talked about the hardships she had in her life and how for 12 years she had to sneak to church. She talked about the horrible, horrible things she had to endure growing up and her way of finding the church. It touched my heart to see someone who has been through so much and has every right to question God and to question if He is really there or if He really loves her and why would He allow these things. She had every right to ask those questions because of all that she had been through and yet she never did. She kept her testimony strong and trusted in the Lord and found peace in knowing her true identity. I really loved when she told us (even though I already knew this) that Gethsemane means oil press. And how when Christ went to the Garden of Gethsemane He was crushed for us and for our sake so that He could know everything we go through and really be there. Another thing I really, really loved that she said was that again she had every single right to have hate towards these people who treated her so badly and persecuted and even killed so many of her people, but how she was able to find charity for them through Christ. How she learned to isolate the act and to love the person and have charity.
I loved that because with a lot of things that are happening in this world it is so important for us to remember that we can have charity to those who hurt us and persecute us. It is so important for us to isolate the act that they are doing and love the person because they are a child of God. And God loves each one of us.
I loved learning this week!
Today was transfer calls, I found out that I will be staying here in Sabina and getting a new companion. A lot of things are changing, it's a bit scary but it is always an adventure which is good. I'm looking forward to see what the new transfer brings.
Oh, one more thing. We have been able to partake of the Sacrament 3 Sundays in a row now. After 12 weeks of not being able to take it, it has been so AMAZING to be able to partake of Sacrament again. I will NEVER take the Sacrament for granted again!!!
Love you all so much and hope that you are doing well!
Sorella Acton
By the light of the moon
Gelato
Love these girls!!
Slumber party before transfers
This is what our nightly Mission Wide Zoom
calls look like
