Yes....the branch members here are waaaaaay special! We have a lot
of fun and sacrifice a lot together. We have 2 ward mission moms who
always make sure we are fed and make us supper. Sister Knoops AKA Sister
Joustra is uber nice and her husband is the best ward missionary.
Unfortunatly our broadcast did not come through haha it was like a stake
testimony meeting! It was good and I could understand them....for the most
part.
I was talking to dad about this is and I guess I will share it with
you.
We all know the famous scripture, "And behold, I tell you these
things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when you are in the
service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your
God." We know that His purpose is to"...bring to the pass the
immortality and eternal life of man." We read, "Therefore I
would that ye should be perfect even as I or your Father who is in heaven is
perfect." We know that, "...no unclean thing can enter into his
Kingdom..." Therefore we have been provided with one who has paid the debt
of our faults. "For behold, he surely must die that salvation may
come; yea; it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to
pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the
presence of the Lord."
Find the pattern of selfless acts. These scriptures revolve around
selflessness. Unselfishness. This has all been done for
us. For me typing, for you reading, for your neighbour, your friends,
your children, your parents, your cousins...for everyone. Our entire goal
of our time on earth is based off of thinking for others. I have seen the
differences when my motives are for those I am serving. I have felt the
love of our Father in Heaven, the Love of Christ and happiness that you just
can’t buy. Do it for them because He would, has and will do it for
you. Find that joy that comes with serving those around you. When I
don’t want to do something I ask myself why I don’t want to do it. I find
the pattern of thinking about myself. "I don’t want to do it because
I'm tired....or I would rather go do this...." things like that. I
seem to focus on ME before I focus on THEM. I ask myself, "Ok...will
this service benefit Mr. or Mrs. so and so..." Find the joy in serving
others because it is there. We just need to find it. As we find the
joy we will become more consecrated Saints of the Lord. Our consecration
will allow our natural behaviors to change. Our motives will change and
we will begin to think more for others than for ourselves. Eventually,
these changed motives will become natural to us. The selfish thoughts or
desires will still be there but it will be easier and more natural to shun them
away.
Many of my happiest moments have a chunk of sacrifice. Whether it
is me serving others or whether it be others serving me or loved ones. A
lot of my smiles come from service.
"But Charity is the pure love of Christ; and it endureth forever;
and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day it shall be well with
him."
Now is our time to shine. Now is our time to give it all we got to
learn how to become as charitable as our Savior and our Eternal Father.
Now is the time to learn to change our motives so that we may reach our full
potential. "We are not here to earn heaven, we are here to learn
heaven."
Let us learn to love and serve as our Savior demonstrated for us.
I am happy to have the relationship I have with my Savior and Father. I
am thankful for their examples. As we love others and think about their well-being...we
will be showing our love for God and the Son. Know that we may always
keep pressing forward after we have tripped. The question is are we going
to take the hand of the one reaching out to us or are we going to sit there and
watch the race finish.
We have been provided with a perfect plan of learning. I know that
what we read about in the scriptures is the plan of God. That it is true.
That we speak with Him and He answers. We have the restored Gospel in its
fullness in our time. Now is the time to "learn of Heaven." Let
us learn His ways and put others before our own. Time to shine.
These things I say and Leave with you in the name of the Redeemer, Jezus
Christus, Amen.
Love,
Elder Holt
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