Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Week 72- HE is the GIFT! #ShareTheGift

Tagging, branding, and castrating cows!!  OUCH!

Hellooooooo!!

I am happy to say that I am still alive and well (and 15lbs heavier) after having FIVE Thanksgiving meals this past week!!  Life of a Utah Salt Lake City missionary! Haha  They take good care of us :)

Thanksgiving "card" from my family! lol


So now that Thanksgiving is over, we roll into the great season of CHRISTMAS! What a wonderful time of the year. The Spirit is more constantly in the air. Why? Because there is MORE Christ! Mas in Spanish means… more! Get it? Haha I thought it was pretty clever!

For this wonderful Christmas holiday, the Missionary Council of the Church (or the First Presidency and the 12) have put forth a HUGE initiative. If you haven't already seen anything about it (which I’m guessing isn't true), it's called "HE is the Gift.”  Emphasis on the HE.  Because CHRIST is the gift.  A gift that is given free to all of us, if we choose to accept it.  Christ is the whole reason we even have Christmas in the first place! So many people are forgetting that.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in the money, gifts, and shiny wrapping paper. We must remember Him!

The Church is doing so many things to get this initiative to as many people as possible, including buying a billboard in Times Square NYC for all of December, buying the YouTube headline advertisement for a day on December 7th, making an amazing video, and making hundreds of thousands of pass-along cards for missionaries and members to hand out to their friends and families! It's crazy!! 

If you haven't seen the video, you can watch here.  
Also visit HE is the GIFT mormon.org/christmas 



Once you have seen the video, please use all your Social Media to post, share, and invite others by using the hashtag #ShareTheGift   Spread the word!!! :) Social Media is going to be a huge game changer for the Hastening of the Work. The Lord is in charge and is taking things to the next level.  Prepare yourselves!

This past Sunday while sitting on the pews in church, I felt a little tug on my shirt and I turned to see a small boy who drew a picture of me on his paint app on his IPad.  He was so proud of it!  Just another great reminder that we as members of His church, are being watched constantly.  Our family and friends (whether we can tell or not) are always looking towards us as an example.  Let us continue to follow in the steps of our Savior and be a "light" unto the world.

A couple of days ago I was able to attend the Temple with a recent convert named Sandy.  She is from one of my last areas! She was baptized before I came into the area, so I had the privilege to work with her on some of the "New-member discussions."  I am so grateful for her and her desire to come closer to the Savior. The Temple is what it's all about!  It's how we "endure to the end". The Temple is the goal!

Sandy (in pink) and her family the Tadler Family!  
They are awesome!

"Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord,
 I’ll share thy love again, according to thy word.
 I shall give love to those in need;
 I’ll show that love by word and deed:
 Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed." - Because I Have Been Given Much (Hymn 219)

"Because I Have Been Given Much" performed by Alex Boyé

What an awesome song!  We sang it this past Sunday and this verse really stood out to me.  We can find so much joy in serving others. We must always do our best to do as the Savior and turn outwards, rather than inwards in all situations.

Love you all! Keep up the good work. Hope you have a wonderful week. Stay close to the Lord and I promise he'll bless you.

~Elder Carroll

My favorite scripture this week: "And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise." (1 Nephi 4:14)

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