Headed to General Conference!
Helloooooo!!
Isn't this
Gospel just wonderful!? It is!! What a great and marvelous opportunity we had
this weekend to listen and observe our Lord's beloved Prophets and Apostles.
Elder Burt and I had the opportunity to attend 3 of the 5 sessions at the
Conference Center itself. The Spirit in the room when President Monson walks in
every time is so surreal. I love it! How blessed are we to have a Prophet that
is called of God to lead and guide us. If you did not have the opportunity to
see all of the sessions, I invite you to go online and watch the ones you
missed! We cannot miss out on the blessing of receiving revelation through the
words and Spirit of the brethren.
Our guests for Conference!
Real quick
about one of the talks that stood out to me the most... President Uchtdorf's
talk (It's always President Uchtdorf
haha), "Lord, is it I?” It really
put things into perspective for me. I
definitely can work on my pride! Although
the Lord has worked a miracle on helping me in realizing that, I still have a
long ways to go! :) How easy is it to
look at someone else's faults or mistakes, and completely miss our own. It's pretty dang easy if you ask me! As President Uchtdorf has instructed us, we
must constantly be asking "Lord, is it I? How can I improve? Won't you help me overcome
my personal challenges and weaknesses?" He will be right there, with his
arm stretched forth, waiting for us to grab a hold. How great and merciful our
loving Lord is. It's truly amazing!
Another few
questions I often ask myself... "Does the Lord trust me? Am I doing something that He would not be
pleased with? If so, what is it? And how can I change and become better?"
If there's one thing I've learned on my mission, it's that the more the Lord
can trust us, the happier we will be. It's that straight forward. Let us re-evaluate ourselves and look deep
inside our hearts. Are we acting, in any
aspect of our lives, in a way that would be displeasing to the Lord? Let us use his graceful Atonement and rise to
the next level. The Lord expects us to follow Him and to do it well.
One of the
greatest things the Lord has made very apparent to me while out here in the
field, is the importance of learning of Him…
"Learn
of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit,
and you shall
have peace in me." (D&C 19:23)
It is
honestly the only way we can come to a knowledge and surety of anything in this
life, for ourselves and for our own personal conversion. The Lord has commanded
us over and over to "treasure up in [our] minds continually the words of
life". If you know me at all, you
would know that back home, I couldn't stand reading a book. I would much rather play my guitar or rock out
to Green Day. Not saying that I don't
like those things anymore, but because I have been serving the Lord full-time
for the last while, I have come to LOVE reading. Every P-day, one of the highlights
of the day is going to D.I. and looking for good books (cause they're so cheap
there!) :) haha!
"Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done;
for thou
hast inquired of me, and behold,
as often as thou hast inquired thou hast
received instruction of my Spirit.
If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have
come to the place where thou art at this time." (D&C 6:14)
We must
constantly be doing our best to "receive instruction from His
Spirit." One of the best ways to do that is by searching His words!
"Seek ye
out of the best books words of wisdom;
seek learning, even by study and also by
faith." (D&C 88:118)
If you can't
tell, I love this!!! There isn't hardly enough study time in the day anymore.
"That
which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light,
and continueth in God,
receiveth more light; and that light
groweth brighter and brighter until the
perfect day." (D&C 50:24)
When we put
the effort to receive "further light and knowledge" from God, He will
then allow us more if we put this knowledge to use. If we act and not just wait
to be acted upon. As Nephi, I too "rejoice in plainness". The words
of life are easy and simple. We just must put in the effort to be in tune with
the Spirit. We must live worthy of it. I know that in order to become
personally converted, we must put in some effort. We must pay the price.
Our friend Alissa, is
doing great and she is on date for baptism on November 1st! So excited for her
and her family. She is solid.
My prayers go
out to you, stay close to the Lord and I promise He will bless you! :)
Love,
Elder Carroll
My favorite scripture this week: Alma 29:9 -
"I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not
glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and
this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to
bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."
Elder Burt and I after the Priesthood session
A couple of Missionaries.
