Tuesday, December 31, 2013

December 30th, 2013

Dear family,
      You all rock! It was great talking to each of you this last week! I wish it would have worked out better and we all would have been able to skype so on Mother's Day lets make it happen! I am sure my app will be up to date by then hopefully. Or maybe we can just do google hangout and I can plan on being at a members home with a camera and good speaker system to talk into! Either way let's try to make that a smoother process next time!
      Sorry I'm lame to talk to haha I don't know what to say! It is just great to see all of your faces and hear you talk! It will be fun to be with you all again in person. I can't wait to play with all the nephews and niece!!! They look so fun!!! They are growing so fast!! Tell them to slow down!
      
       So something pretty awesome coming up is that we get to go camping again!!! But only the leaders!! In I think two weeks we will be going to camp liahona with all the  zone leaders and sister trainer leaders for three days! It will be so cold but super fun. We are really excited.
We had a good week this week. It was slow because of Christmas but it was good. I think it was probably a little slow for most missionaries. So   We are looking forward to getting some good work done here with the Christmas season coming to a close and New Years almost past. It will be nice to get back into the rhythm of things and actually have people home and not busy! So that will be great!
     So in my studies the other day I read 2 nephi 2:2

2 Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain. (2 Nephi 2:2)

I was interested in the last line. Consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.

To consecrate means to make or declare something sacred or to dedicate formally to a divine purpose. So The Lord has a Devine purpose for our trials sometimes. I found this quote by Richard g Scott

"Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain."

I love that quote!! So often we think when hard times come that woe is me I must be disobedient and a horrible person or we might think that of someone else because of the hard times they are having. But often the hard time come because god knows that we are prepared and that this will help us grow more and become more like him. I know that is true. I have also learned that as we show gratitude in All things like the scriptures tell us too that we will see our trials in the context that we are supposed to. That we came here to learn and be tested. Opposition in all things. And when we do learn from that opposition we are taught ourselves and we are then because of our trails and experience, able to help those around us going through the same trials.
     I love the scriptures and the gospel. They teach us so much. All we have to do is open them and begin to read and any sincere seeker will find truth and answers.
  The church is true. I love all of you! Happy New Years!!
   Elder Nelson

No comments:

Post a Comment