April 27, 2009

I hear that you had a most wonderful weekend, almost a perfect weekend. We have perfect moments like that, and I have tried to capture those in my journal lately. There is so much joy that comes out of noticing the little things. There are so many wonderful things in this world that we can envelops ourselves with. So many righteous habits that can keep us away from sin. Mom shared her joy for the family and how it creates a fortress around us. I really loved that. You are all my fortress of love. I love you all more than I can express. You mean the world to me, and to think that there are a couple that I have never met. I am in for a treat.

We had the All-mission conference last week with President Packer. It was wonderful. I had many spiritual witnesses that he truly is an authorized Apostle of our Lord, Jesus Christ. I was amazed at that, and grateful for the opportunity to be spoken to by him. When he left, I felt a fleeting feeling. Like, "I never want this moment to end" feeling. I had the exact same one with President Uchtdorf. I imagine that is what is was like when we left our Father's presence, even more so. I love to have them in my presence. I feel so lucky. I also imagine it will be even greater when we are about to see the Lord after passing on. We will be so excited and feel so privileged. And He will know us. Let us prepare ourselves for such a moment, like we prepare to hear the word of the prophet at General Conference. Our personality and mannerisms should be such that we could stand comfortable in the presence of the Lord. I have a lot to work on!

We have a great investigator named M***. She used to be in a woman's refuge, but was able to find a place outside. We have been helping her to move in, and from the beginning she said she knows the church is true, because of the way we act. We, of course, want her testimony to be more centered upon the Savior, but it is a good start. She reads and prays and comes to church. She has accepted a baptismal date of the 16th of May. As she said the closing prayer during the end of that lesson, she said she felt a confirming feeling that it was right. She is doing very well. In our second lesson, she told us of an amazing experience she had. She has had a rough past, and she told us that she was praying the other day and she had some scriptures pop into her head. She said 2 Nephi 4: 18-end came into her mind, so she went to investigate. And all of you know that the Lord gave her a gem. She said that it fit her feelings and situation perfectly. That is a miracle. The Lord inspires people in miraculous ways.

My favorite scripture for the week is in Helaman chapter 5. This whole chapter is one of my favorites. They are first told to remember their names and those of their ancestors and to pattern their lives after their fathers. They are also told to remember, remember, and . . . remember. The popular one is v. 12, but I also love right after that when they are told to remember to keep the commandments, and they did, AS THEY WENT FORTH TO PREACH. To be successful in the Lord's work, we must be OBEDIENT. Verse 17 and 18 describe their power and success. They brought thousands of less-actives and non-members into the gospel, because they taught with such great power and authority. Both come from God. The Authority is with them at all times, but I believe that Power like that is given as we submit our will to God, become more Chirst-like, and thus receive from Him the ability to perform like Christ. I love this chapter. I love the Book of Mormon. I just keep finding things that I swear weren't in there before.

To answer my question from last week: This may not be the only man who is mighty in writing, you assume that Mormon would be to fulfill his divine commission, but Moroni tells us in Ether chapter 12 that the Nephites were not made mighty in writing because of the awkwardness of their hands, but they are mighty in speaking. They were not made mighty in writing like . . . here is your answer . . . unto the BROTHER OF JARED. This is all found in Ether 12:23-26. We can learn much from these scriptures, but one fun thing we learn is that the Brother of Jared was mighty in writing unto the overpowering of man to read them. This of course had to be, so that the strength of his vision could be carried on the plates until Mosiah was able to translate them. There is your fun fact for the week.

Our flat now looks gorgeous, as we have put in some work over our free time to fix everything. The garage looks good, and the backyard is getting there. I guess I am just being prepared for many great projects in the future ;)

We got some amazing lasagna from a member in the ward yesterday who was in the catering business for over 20 years. This ward is amazing, really amazing. They never cease to amaze me. I have grown to really, really love a couple of members already. One of them is this sister who made us lasagna. She just went through a divorce, has a special needs child, and has only been a member for about 2 years. She also teaches Seminary. She is so elect. We did some service in her garden last Friday. It was quite nice.

Well family, thank you for all of the e-mails, and update, and pictures. I love them. Keep it coming! I love you all, and am grateful for the path that the gospel puts us on. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior, and that God lives and cares about each of us. I love you and am grateful that our family is rooted in the gospel. It is the ONLY way. Until next week,

T'rah

Elder Davies