Monday, October 4, 2010

There Not Just Old Men

Hey there everyone!  Didn't you all just love conference?!  It was so good!  It is amazing to see how every talk seems directed towards you.  It doesn't matter what stage you are at life, each talk can be applied to all of our lives. 

I loved how President Monson started the conference by talking about the new temples and missionaries!  2 subjects that I hold very near to my heart.  There really is so much power found in making and keeping temple covenants.  I love this months Ensign about temples.  They truly are the house of the Lord.  And missionaries... I love being a missionary!  I want to be a missionary for the rest of my life! 

Something that I've really come to know is that you can't prepare for a mission by just going to the MTC.  It is something that needs to be prepared for throughout your whole life.  You can't fake a testimony and a love for the Lord.  You need to be a missionary before you even put on the name tag.  Being a missionary is so great!  It truly is the best thing that I've ever done. 

So I want to talk more about conference, but first, I want to share part of a lesson that we had yesterday.  Sister Thomas and I were teaching Hunter and BJ Parry.  They're 8 and 11 yrs old.  Well, we were talking about conference and I said, "The speakers aren't just old men."  Hunter (the 8 yr old) quickly cut me off and said, "You're right.  They're men that want to say something before they die.  We have to be mature about this."  So funny!  I was trying so hard not to laugh.  But, Hunter does have a point.  Our church leaders are men who have so much wisdom and are full of the spirit.  They know what we need to hear.  They know what will bring us happiness and joy.  They know our Savior and how we can draw closer to Him.  This really is something that we need to be mature about.  I love D&C 1: 38 which says, "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my voice shall not pass away, but shall be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."  We can feel confidant that as we study the words of our living prophets that it is the voice of the Lord and that we will hear what He wants us to hear.  It's up to us to listen, internalize, and heed their words. 

I think that it is so sad because there are so many people who are searching for the truth and they have no idea that our loving Heavenly Father has called another prophet to lead and guide us. 

We tried to tell everyone about conference because we knew that it would give people answers to the questions that they've been searching for.  Unfortunately, some people chose not to listen.  We have to make a conscious effort to listen to the prophets.  We were really excited though because some people did come.  During the Saturday afternoon session, 3 of the Parry boys (ages 8, 6, and 5) showed up.  They knew that it was important to listen to the prophet so the 3 of them rode their bikes to the church to watch it with us.  Thank goodness that Aunt Jolene sent me conference games last conference time.  Those games kept them occupied.  It was so funny to hear what they had to say about all of the speakers.  They really liked it.  Yesterday we went to their house and their parents had turned on conference for them to watch at home.  For just learning who the prophet is, they sure do have a great love for him. 

Yesterday, we were so excited because Rycca came to the morning session.  We made her breakfast to make sure that she would come.  It was really cool because we had asked her to pray about some of her questions and promised her that they would be answered as she watched conference.  She was a little hesitant but took the challenge and said that President Monson answered her questions.  She loved it and was so glad that she woke up early to watch it.
  
Things are going great with Sister Thomas!  I love being her companion!  We get along really well and she definitely has been preparing to serve a mission her whole life.  She is just so excited to go out and help others come unto Christ.  It's been way fun because we've made it a goal to get out of the truck and walk and talk to everyone we see everyday.  I love talking to everyone.  For the most part, people are always nice and if anything, we can have a nice conversation with them.  We've talked to tons of people and have seen many miracles.  I feel like talking to everyone is a demonstration of our faith.  As we show Heavenly Father that we want all of His children to come unto Him, He'll put them in our paths. 

An example of this came while we were doing service for our investigator, Sandra.  We were waiting outside of her trailer for her and her 19 year old, drug using son, showed up and told us that he really wants to change his life and wanted our help.  Sandra told us that he is now reading the Book of Mormon and she is so happy because she knows that this can be what makes this difference in him.  The Gospel changes lives as we let it.  But, it wont change someone if they don't know about it.  We've talked to Chris so many times and he's never showed interest.  This just showed me that we have to keep inviting people even if they don't really respond to the invitation at first.  The Gospel is true, and we need to be continuously inviting others to take part in it.
     
Well, that's about it for the week!  I hope that you're all doing great and make this the best week ever!  Come unto Christ and invite your friends to come along with you!  The Church is definitely true! 

Love, Sister Anderson
Moroni 10: 30-33

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