Hey!

(we heart attacked a sister who had her knee replaced)

Hey everyone!  I'm happy to hear that our cougars were victorious! 

I realized this weekend that I've come a far way.  Last year at this time I was dying to know how the football team was doing.  There were members who would even call me and let me know if the cougars won or not.  Well, I'm happy to report that this year it hasn't really even phased me.  Of course I wore blue and white to show my support, but I didn't even feel a twinge of wanting to be there.  What a difference a year makes.  Of course, things will be back to normal again next season. 

So this week has been really great.  Sister Rust and I saw a lot of miracles.  About 2 weeks ago we were out looking for this less-active man and found this 15 year old girl named Rycca.  She said that we could come back and talk to her. Well, it turns out that her grandma who she lives with is a member of the church!  I love part-member families! So we started teaching Rycca.  She is an awesome girl who is super busy.  It's so funny because her friends aren't interested in changing religions, but they sit in on all of the appointments to hear what we have to say. 

On Tuesday we taught the first lesson (the Restoration) and really focused every part of it on baptism.  At the end we shared in 2nd Nephi where it talks about Christ being baptized and that in order to follow Him we too must be baptized.  Well that kind of hit Rycca.  Her friends were like "I've been baptized!" and she sheepishly said that she hadn't. We informed her that that was ok because it is our job to help people come unto Christ through making covenants like baptism.  We invited her to be baptized and without hesitation she accepted!  Woohoo!  We're so excited about Rycca.  The only issue is that she's so busy and it is hard to see her every day but we're working. 

We also started to teach these 2 boys this week.  Their names are Hunter and Benjamin and they're 8 and 11.  Their parents are members of the Church and the boys have been wanting to go to church.  It's amazing, they're spiritually super mature for their ages.  They've really been prepared.  Well, we talked with their dad and set up an appointment to teach the boys.  We got to the appointment and the 2 boys came out and both said, "I want to be baptized!"  What a miracle!  And the dad is super supportive of it.  We gave them both Books of Mormon and every day when we go over we are amazed about how much they've read. They truly want to learn everything.  They're like sponges just soaking everything in.  Unfortunately their mom is also less-active and lives in a different town so they wont be able to come to church with us every Sunday, but one of the great members here is friends with her so we're going talk to her about the situation. 

I love working with members and part-member families. 

In PMG there is a a quote from President Hinckley that says that so many of us see missionary work as simply tracting but all involved know that there is a better way and that is through the members.  I tract when other plans fall through, but I agree with President Hinckley, there are so many better and more effective ways to do missionary work.
   
As I was reading the Book of Mormon this morning I came across something that I thought was really interesting. It is 1st Nephi 15.  Well at this point, Nephi had just come down from the mountain after learning the interpretation of his father's vision of the tree of life.  He comes down and everyone is all upset because they don't understand the vision.  Nephi asks his brothers if they asked the Lord for the meaning of it all and they said that they hadn't (too bad, ask and ye shall find...).  So Nephi began to explain it all to his brothers. Well in verse 24 speaking of the iron rod it says, "And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."  What a great promise!  If we hold fast and cling to the word of God we'll be safe and Satan wont be able to get us.  It reminds me of Helaman 5:12.  As we hold on to the word of God we are building on our Rock, Christ.  This is why daily scripture study is so important.  It's not just a nice thing to do, it's something that we need to do! 

He said that he exhorted his brothers with "all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things (vs 25)".  It made me think about if I do that.  Do I exhort everyone with all that I have to study the word of God, to feast upon the Book of Mormon?  I mean, we're talking about salvation here. So I think that I finally am starting to understand why our leaders keep saying that the Book of Mormon is salvation in our hands. 

Elder Holland says that if people don't read the Book of Mormon we need to be "devastated" and read with them.  But in PMG it says that if people fall back into old habits we need to be understanding and help them get back onto the right path.  I wondered about this and have realized that this is because the Book of Mormon helps us to overcome those old habits, to overcome the "natural man." 

Elder Ballard said, "In a world ever more dangerous... the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ has the nourishing power to heal starving spirits of the world."  What an amazing promise!  The world is full of starving souls and we have what will give them nourishment. 

I love the Book of Mormon!  And I have one more quote about it.  This is from President Hinckley.  "Each time we encourage others to read the Book of Mormon we do them a favor.  If they read it prayerfully and with a sincere desire to know the truth, they will know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the book is true.  From that knowledge there will flow the conviction of the truth of many other things. for if the Book of Mormon is true, then God lives.  If the Book of Mormon is true then Jesus is verily our Redeemer, the Savior of the world.  The great purpose of it's preservation in coming forth according to it's own statement is to the convincing of the Jew and gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations. If the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God... for he was the instrument in the hands of God in bringing to light this testimony of the divinity of our Lord.  If the Book of Mormon is true then the Church is true... for the same authority by which this sacred record came to light is present and manifest among us today."  He also promised that if we read the book, "There will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strength and resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God."  Wow!  What great promises! 

So what is stopping us from reading, studying, and loving this book? 

I'm doing you all a "favor" today and I'm encouraging you all to feast upon the words of Christ.  I promise you that as you do so you will be changed and you will see miracles in your lives.  Prophets don't lie.  

I hope that you're all doing wonderfully and made it down to the end of this long letter. 

Remember that true happiness only comes from Christ. He is the only way.  Accept Him into your lives and feast upon His words.  I love you all lots!  

Love, Sister Anderson