OCTOBER 13, 2014
Fun on the Farm
Erda burgers at the Erda ballpark!
The Great Salt Lake
Family and
Frieeeends,
Been a great week of missionary work! Alissa is super solid still for baptism on
November 1st. We went to Temple Square
this past Saturday and had a great lesson with the Sister Missionaries! We also
found 2 new investigators yesterday! Both have met with missionaries in the
past, but neither have read or prayed about the Book of Mormon or Joseph
Smith... We're gonna help them change that, and let the Lord take it from
there! :)
Over the course of the last few months of
serving the Lord full-time, I have been blessed to come to a great knowledge
and understanding of the importance of putting ourselves where we need to be.
Or, "standing in holy places". The importance of acting. Personal
conversion starts when we feel something. And if we are not putting ourselves
in places where we can feel something (the Spirit), we will never become personal
converted. If we are putting ourselves in "unholy" places or flirting
with temptation, it doesn't take much for the Adversary to catch us in his
snare. We as humans are so weak.. But with the strength of our God and Savior,
we can overcome anything. If we do not take it upon ourselves to act (read from
the scriptures/words of the Prophets and Apostles, ponder, pray, and attend our
church meetings), we can't expect to know the things we wish to know. We can't
expect to have a burning testimony of this true Church, Joseph Smith, the Book
of Mormon, or of Christ. And with that burning testimony of this Gospel, comes
so much joy. I can't even begin to describe it to you.
This past week we were at a church building
and got asked by the youth group there if we would like to be in a
"movie" they are making. We agreed, and they explained that they just
needed to film us telling the camera "what we stand for". That really
made me think. What do I stand for?
What do you stand for? Alma asks an
interesting series of questions that we can use to evaluate our own personal
lives:
"And now
behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born
of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced
this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14)
Have we? If the answer is no to any of
these questions, what are we doing about it? What will we do about it? Will we
act? Will we repent and change? With the help of the Lord, we can. And trust
me, it's so worth it.
In the past couple of weeks, we have been
privileged to take a Recent Convert of about a year, our on splits and visits
with us! His name is Patrick Willoughby, and actually had an article in the
July 2014 Ensign published about him and his 3 boys. Here's the link
Patrick came from a rough background, but has completely turned his life over
to the Lord. He is one of the most humble people that I know. He is the only
member in his family (with an inactive member mom) and both of his brothers are
serving lifetime sentences in prison. He's tatted up and down his whole body! haha He say's he likes to wear short-sleeved shirts to church, to help others
know that it's okay to make mistakes. Patrick was baptized and was sealed to his
wife last Friday! So he's on fire with the Spirit! So happy for him and his
family. You should hear him pray.. it's so simple and childlike. Patrick is
proof that people can change. With the Atonement, we can all change and become
like our loving Father in heaven.
If you haven't seen the new church-produced
movie, "Meet the Mormons", you need to go see it now!!! Our Mission
President got his hands on a copy about a month before it came out in theaters,
so our whole mission was able to see it! It isn't a movie to
"convert" the world, but more to help people gain a better
understanding about what us "Mormons" are all about! It followed 6
LDS families from around the world, and shows their lives and what makes us as
Latter-Day Saints, tick. Go see it. Take your friends to see it! I promise you
will not be disappointed.
On a closing note…one of the investigators
we are currently teaching said something at our lesson yesterday that really
stood out to me. She said, "Even if we never come to an agreement on our
religious beliefs, I will never doubt that you two are messengers from
God.".... God puts us in other’s paths for a reason, and vice versa. We
just must be willing to act upon those opportunities to serve Him and His
children that we are given. Our joy can be so great if we will just act.
Keep up the good work, and I promise the
Lord will bless you! :)
Love,
Elder Carroll
"Seek
not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be
unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath
eternal life is rich." (D&C 6:7)
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