I Love the Lord
Hola a todos!
Sorry I didn't get an email off on Wednesday! I have now received two shots in two weeks though, and await the third and (hopefully) final shot I need before I can head to Mexico! The past week and a half, I've felt the Lord's "refining fire" as I've worked each day to learn the spanish language and draw closer to Him. This home MTC experience has really been a blessing I believe, and it's crazy that I've only got 2 weeks left before I head out to proclaim the joy of His gospel!
Some things that happened and that I've been thinking about. Last Monday and Tuesday, my district (me and the 11 other missionaries in my classes) and I along with our two teachers joined in fast to specifically help one of the Elders in my district be blessed with the gift of tongues and be able to learn the spanish language better. This was a super cool experience, and, even though I fast each month, it felt different as this fast was specifically and only for the blessing of someone other than myself. I think fasting brought our district even closer together, and even if he didn't recognize it, I can definitely see how the Elder has been progressing since, and I know that if he continues to work for it, along with the rest of our district, we will all be able to learn and grow so much with the Lord's help.
Tuesday night, we also had a devotional like we do each week where our district meets together over zoom, listens to a devotional message from one of the Apostles of the Lord on the Earth today, and then discusses the message afterwards and shares our thoughts and feelings on what was said. That night we listened to an address given by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife, and they shared a really amazing message about how each and every thing we do matters. By way of analogy, Elder Uchtdorf showed a painting and shared that similar to our lives, paintings are made up of tiny brush strokes upon brush strokes (our choices) where eventually all those brush strokes come together to form something wonderful and beautiful. And while in our lives, it may not seem like making some small choices really matters, but each choice really does matter. God gave each of us the agency and power to choose for ourselves what we will do in this life, and I would implore you each to cherish every choice you get to make and strive to always choose the right and bring yourselves closer to God.
My last thought I'll share is something from just yesterday actually. While studying in the Book of Mormon yesterday, I read the fourth chapter of the Second Book of Nephi. For background, Nephi was a prophet of the Lord upon the american continent in ancient times many many years before the Lord came to the Earth and performed his great atoning sacrifice. In this chapter, Nephi, a very righteous man and again, a prophet of the Lord, laments and cries "my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities". This is a very powerful exclamation, and it strikes me as amazing because all of us have challenges and trials, all of us make mistakes, even the prophets and apostles in times past and in our current times; we all need the use of the Savior's atoning sacrifice. And this knowledge of what the Savior has done for each of us leads Nephi, just a few verses later in the chapter, to exclaim "Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation". I know that Nephi is not the only one who feels this way. I love the Lord and am continually grateful for everything he has done, still does, and will do for me. There is a song by the BYU Men's Choir titled "I love the Lord" where the words are taken from Nephi's Lament in 2 Nephi 4 and put to the tune of "Be still my soul". I'll put the link at the end of my email, and if you want to feel the spirit of the Lord, please listen to the words and the spirit that the song brings; it is so powerful.
I love you all, and I hope you have a wonderful week! I pray for you guys every day :)
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