Monday, 10 November 2014

Week 50 - Perfecting our Faith

This week was pretty good.  It wouldn't look like it if you saw the amount of lessons we taught but it's been important to keep pushing along.  The Lord’s work won't push along if you don't help push it along.  We've had appointments fall through but the Lord has helped us find 2 new friends.  Really nice people.  They had learned a little from missionaries a few years ago but they didn't feel loved by the ward members.  They felt like the ward members just wanted them to get baptized and didn't feel a ''family connection'' with them.  Opened my eyes on how important it is to remember the greatest commandments: 

''...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.'' Matt 12:30, 31

I've started studying the Epistles of Paul.  I was curious on the lead up to the great apostasy.  What were the saints of Jesus Christ going through?  What events happened?  What were the remaining Apostles guiding the Saints to do?  So many questions filled with curiosity.  There is a ton I wish I could share with you but, lucky for you guys, the limited time on the computer has reduced that amount by drastic measures.

One insight that I had was why we are tried.  This answer gets pretty big and complicated so I won't get into it all.  I want to talk about perfecting our faith.

 ''Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith''

I hope this doesn't sound crazy or I leave it with too many holes. Reading it now I kind of am confused how I got to my answer from my question.  After I read this verse I was thinking about the trials that the saints were going through.  I thought about the trials that we go through.  I really wanted to know more about why we have trials.  The last part of the sentence, ''might perfect that which is lacking in your faith''  We live two parts of life.  A temporal life and a spiritual life.  This temporal, just may, help us work to perfect our spiritual aspect of life.  In this new area I feel like a lesson I am to learn working towards perfecting my faith.  There is a reason why faith is number one in ''our purpose.''  We live lives where faith is constantly exercised.  Sometimes we do all we can and work so hard…and the outcomes are not what we thought.  We contact people daily.  We do our very best to help them in their own personal way but some days...the fruits of the labour are unseen.  I've been experiencing that perfecting the faith is to keep moving forward with your head up and holding fast to your hopes and goals. We had a really slow week.  Our goals for the week were slowly becoming a downer.  My comp has a really good attitude about everything.  He would always say...''well....we’ve got two more days. Let's keep going.''  We kept going.  If we didn't we wouldn't have found our two new friends.  I've been focusing a lot on ''Perfecting my Faith''. 

Oh how much I care for this Gospel.  How much I care for the men and women that have made it possible for me to have this Gospel.  We have a Heavenly Father that loves us a lot and will help us.  He loves us so much that He will put us into situations that will help us become better people; situations that have the potential to help us, ''Perfect our faith'', as long as we allow our Savior to nourish our faith.  I find great comfort in the Scriptures.  I have particularly enjoyed seeing both sides of the page as I study both Testaments of Christ.  The Lord lives.  We can learn His ways through applying what we learn in the scriptures.  Everything requires faith.  Let us all work towards perfecting our faith: 

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that‍ there be no divisions‍ among you; but that‍ ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind‍ and 
in the same judgment.” 1 Corinthians 1:10

Let us all be united with our Father in Heaven and not divide ourselves against the ways to achieve all the good things in life.  Let us follow the footsteps of our Redeemer, even Jesus Christ.  We will all stand before Him one day.  Let us prepare by walking in faith in a world that is governed by sight. 

“But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.'' 2 Corinthians 2:9-16

Trust in God.  He loves you.

Love you and I hope you all have a sweet week!
Elder Holt

PS.  Sorry about no pictures

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