1. There is no good fruit around right now......
2. Spiritual experiences happen when people are prepared (when you know it is true you know when you need to act)
3. When you smile all day you get a lot more done
This past week has been a blast I have a new companion. His name is Elder Muhlauyo (however it is pronounced Mu-Shlaa-ouy-yo) Many people cannot say his name so we end up laughing with all the people that we try and contact. It has been fun still pushing this area forward we have a lot of promising people that really know how and why they need to follow the truth. A few of the people we are working with are facing trials that are keeping them from committing, luckily my companion and I have come to know that when you are worthy of the Spirit it will make you say things that truly change the person. We have had some incredibly powerful lessons because of the Spirit's witness to them. You cannot do this work without the constant aid of the Spirit. The past week I have felt the influence a lot in our lessons!
So recently we taught someone the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End). During the lesson we compared it to walking up mountains (because my area is nothing but large hills and valleys!) We talked about how the journey of the Gospel can be viewed as climbing a big hill. It takes faith to start, and without the faith to begin you cannot just continue. The steps you take are difficult and full of hardship (repentance) but every step you take is joyous because it means you are closer to reaching the highest point you have ever reached before. Baptism (as compared in the scriptures) we related to a gate you have to pass to reach the top, then as you pass the gate you are blessed to have somone walk beside you (the Holy Ghost) who can be with you as you continually walk to the top (enduing to the end). The lesson was so simple and plain, it felt so natural to talk about so it was a blessing that the Spirit could testify of it so completely. As Preach my Gospel quotes, "the more simple and complete a statement the more chance the Spirit has to testify of truth."
When we went and followed up in another lesson, they came forward with concerns stopping them from making commitments. They are fully aware of what they must do to follow Jesus Christ and they Believe all that has been testified to them (from Joseph Smith to the Plan of salvation) but to act has its challenges. While talking we again related it to the hill we had talked about the lesson before. We discussed how as Christ declared, we must all pick up the cross and walk with him. This lesson was hard to talk about. We shared with her the the journey we are on is not without challenge or burden. Instead we are commanded to take up our burdens and push forward anyway. The cross we have to carry up the hill is our personal witness to God that we are willing to follow him and His Only Begotten Son. We talked about their challenge and concern and showed how, though my companion and I love them and do not want them to suffer, they have been asked to push forward (not by us, but by God) and get to the top. The Spirit was so palpable i could have cut it with a knife. We also Promised them that as they pushed forward their burden would be made light (not taken away) because of the Love of the Savior.
I learned a lot in that lesson for myself. Even as we go forward in this life a lot happens but instead of seeing it as a burden we have to view it as another chance to prove to both God and Jesus Christ that there is nothing that can stop us following and serving them. The walk up this hill is a long one, full of gullies and bumps but it is all worth it if we can reach the top. Making it is part of the fun, as we know "Adam fell that men might be, and Men are that they MIGHT HAVE JOY" (emphasis added)
love you all
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