Hello
everyone!
I hope that
you are all doing well and that you are happy and loving life! Because life is
amazing and it is a great gift from our Father in Heaven that I think we all
take for granted. Even something small, like knees for instance, are beautiful
beautiful things! Well, physically? No, they are actually kind of fea... but
they are really beautiful because they allow us to do so much! I really took
mine for granted before I hit the asphalt really really hard...I walked around
like an old lady, limping and all that and I couldn`t really do anything for
exercise because all I could do was barely stand somewhat straight and yeah...I
couldn`t sit on the ground or do push ups or planks or anything...so that was
rough too. And, I couldn`t sit down and cross my legs! That killed me! It was
so hard...it`s like a habit for me to just cross my legs while sitting in
lessons or in church or where ever, but I couldn´t do that either. I on`t
really know why I told you all that but basically, I really appreciate my knees
so much more and I am going to be so much more careful while walking and stuff
cuz I don`t really want to repeat this week again, as far as the condition of
my knees are concerned. They are actually healing really fast and feeling a lot
better! They still look really ugly but I am so so grateful that they are
healing! Anyway, enough of that. Let`s talk about the General Conference
because it was so so amazing!! I loved it so much!!
It was a
tender mercy from the Lord for me because we were able to watch the Saturday
sessions in English! It was amazing! I learned so much and got planched pretty
hard a few times and there were talks that answered questions I wasnt even
aware I had until after the words came out of the mouths of these prophets,
seers, an revelators. The whole thing was just so awesome! How blessed are we
that every six months the Lord grants us an opportunity to listen to talks
given by His holy prophets who are called of Him to guide us and teach us His
will? General Conference is such an inspired blessing and I can`t believe how I
took it for granted when I was a kid! I always used to think it was so long and
so boring because I never really understood what they were teaching us but I am
so grateful for the opportunity that we have to learn and grow spiritually on
our path to true discipleship.
I want to
know what your favorite talks were from the Saturday sessions! And dad, Cod and
Prest, tell me what you learned from Priesthood! :)
The Sunday
morning session was really rough because we had to watch it in Spanish (since
the chapel was really full of people and they were like all using the internet
on their phones and tablets and stuff so we couldn`t watch it in English since
it would slow the internet down )and I recognized words and phrases and stuff
but it was stuff that I already knew and so I wasn`t able to understand the
entire talk or anything like that and in my notes it was kind of sad because I
only have two sentances written down...
I still felt
the Spirit though for sure and I loved listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
and enjoying the Spirit that comes with their angelic voices. Luckily, we were
able to watch the second half of the sunday session in English and I understood
it all so much better and learned a lot of things. I just love conference so
much!
One thing
that I loved from the Sunday conference (in the afternoon when I actually
understood what was going on) was when one of the speakers, I can`t remember
who said it, said that it is so much easier to make little changes everyday
than to do a complete 360 degree turn around; it hurts less. I loved that
because it applies to all people! It applies to members of the church striving
to become better disciples of Christ, it applies to our investigators who are
making changes in their lives right now to live the gospel the way that we
teach them and the way that they read about in the scriptures-the way the Lord
wants them to live it, and also, it applies to us missionaries out here in the
field. A lot of the time, we beat ourselves up over the mistakes that we make
or because we didn`t keep a rule exactly like we should have or we didnt have
as much success during the week as we wanted, but, it is so important to
remember that we just need to make small changes everyday and focus on one
thing at a time instead of trying to fix all the problems all at once right
then and there. It hurts less when we do things little by little rather than
trying to eat an entire elephant in one bite or something ridiculous like that.
¨By small and simple things are great things brought to pass¨. The Lord will
help us make the small changes daily that are neccesary for our profit and
learning. He will help us bring about great changes and miracles by taking
small steps, by doing small things. We must learn things continually in the
manner that God intended: line upon line, precept upon precept.
This talk
helped me a lot because there are so many things that I want to change about
myself and so many things that I want as characteristics in my life, but I
know, and understand better now, that it is ok to only focus on one thing at a
time; to not get caught in riptides that make us feel hopelessly lost in rough
waters. In fact, it is better, easier, and hurts less when we make the small
changes daily. The yoke of the Savior is light and easy and with His help I can
accomplish all things. With His help, it will hurt less.
I also liked
the talk (I think it was on Satuday but I don`t have my notes with me so
correct me if I get it wrong) that talked about the emergency masks on the
airplanes and how he related it to our lives and the gospel. It is so
important, in fact, it is vital to first adjust our straps before we can adjust
those of another. We need to be firmly planted in the faith and in the rich souls
of the gospel truths before we can help other people adjust their straps.
Obvioulsy right now, this is a really important principle for me because I am
called as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to
preach the gospel of Christ and to bring others unto Him. This is my calling
right now and there is special and specific power associated with it. It is
more obvious as a missionary that I need to have my mask adjusted before I can
go out and teach and help others adjust theirs. I need to have a testimony of
this gospel that is so strong and deep that nothing can shake it, nothing can
up-root it. Not even crash-landing in a plane from the sky.
This talk
holds specific significance for all members of the church-not just full-time
serving missionaries. As members of the church, you all still have the same
responsibilites that I do right now-you all still need to share your
testimonies with others and share this glorious gospel with all those around
you. But, you also need to make sure that your mask is securely fastened so
that nothing can shake it. It is your responsibility alone to make sure that
you can withstand all the turbulence of life and that your faith and testimony
is firm before you reach out to help others because you don`t want to risk the
chance of having your mask surprisingly fall from your face when the turbulance
hits hardest. If your mask isn`t secure, you aren`t going to be much help to
those around you.
Also, I loved
the talk by President Uchtdorf when he talked about the constellations and
instruments that can now gather celestial light so that we now have a greater
knowledge of other constellations and galaxies among us. God has always been
there. His truths have always been there. We just haven`t always used the
proper tools to gather the celestial light that Heavenly Father and the Savior
Jesus Christ offer. When we seek out these tools and use them daily and
correctly, celestial light gathers in our hearts and in our minds, enlightening
our understanding and building us brighter and brighter from within. When we
seek celestial light, we will find it and we can gather it and add to our inner
light until it is shining through our very beings!
It`s never
too late to open the scriptures. It`s never too late to pour your heart out in
prayer. It is never to late to utilize the celestial tools that God has given
us to gather His celestial light. Search the word of God with dilligence,
ponder them in your hearts and your minds and pray to the Lord in the name of our
mediator, Jesus Christ, and give thanks for the light that you do have and for
the opportunity daily to gather more. Don`t get caught in the riptides of the
adversary who laughs at us when we feel down. Blind him and burn him out with
the light of Christ that you can find and gather and use as your everlasting
sheild all the days of your mortal and eternal lives.
I hope that
you all learned something amazing in the conference talks this year and that
you can apply them to your lives with sincere intention to become better
disciples of Christ. I know that the prophet Thomas S. Monson is a true and
living prophet and that he has been called of God to lead us in the paths of
righteousness in these days and in these times. I know that his counselors and
the Quorem of the Twelve and the other auxillirary leaders of the church have
also been called of God and that they recieve revelation for the saints today.
I know that the Lord Jesus Christ lives, with every fiber of my being. He lived
and died for us. He suffered greater pains than any man has ever known because
He suffered all of our pains collectively. He lives again for us because He
loves us and He loves the Father and He wants for us to be eternally happy. I
know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and that He
truly is our Mediator with the Father because without Hm, we literally would
have nothing.
I am so
grateful for this gospel in my life and for the truths that the Holy Ghost has
testified to my heart because they make me who I am. I am so thankful that i
have this opportunity to be a missionary right now serving in Mexico and that I
have the opportunity to change lives just as mine has been changed because I
have this knowledge. I hope that none of us take any of this for granted and
that we live each day as the Savior would have us live. We are His
representatives right now on the earth and it is our responsibility to build
the Kingdom of God here on the earth with all the strength that we can muster.
I know that I am not even close to perfect and that I make mistakes and fall
short of the glory of God daily, but I also know that hope is not lost because
we have a Savior who makes up the difference. All we have to do, is ask. I know
these things to be true and I share them in the name of Jesus Christ, my
Savior, Redeemer, and perfect example of obedience, Amen.
I apologize
because this is so long this week but my heart is just really full of gratitude
for all the beautiful blessings that I have in my life. I hope that you all have
an amazing week and that you strive to apply something from Conference into
your daily lives. I love you all so much! Thank you for your love and support
:)
Love always,
Hermana Walker :)
