Stir Crazy in Woodward!
Dear Friends and Family,
Well this week was a little different then most. Tuesday and Wednesday we were snowed in. Well there actually wasn't that much snow, maybe about 3 inches but was between -12 and 20 degrees most of the week. Our Mission President told us that we had to say inside all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday we could drive and go out, but only to set appointment, i.e. no tracting!
So what do two Sister Missionaries do when we can't do missionary work.... well we studied a lot! Tuesday I spent about 2.5hrs mending clothes that I had been putting off doing. Lots of buttons to sew back on and hems and lining to fix. Yikes! What did people do before sewing machines? Oh, I know! Spend several hours mending, like I did! :) I also made visuals for several of the missionary lessons that I have been wanting to make for several weeks. Wednesday we planned for the week, and studied and played games like Jenga and Bannanagrams that we had in our apartment. Later in the evening we also studied the Book of Mormon together. And by studied I mean we drew stick figure drawings of the ENTIRE plot of the Book of Mormon. It took about 60 sheets of paper, but we did it and it is lining the top of our apartment living room. During our isolation we also cooked, a lot. We made pot stickers, egg rolls and a Chinese-inspired coleslaw to celebrate Chinese New Year. YUM!!!
I love teaching people. This Sunday church services were cancelled but we got to go around and teach lots of the members. I love teaching the gospel. Even though we couldn't go to church, it still was an awesome day because we got to teach about the Doctrine of Christ to 7 different member families. I love the Doctrine of Christ. The Doctrine of Christ is how we "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they may also be one in us" (John 17:21). We are able to do that as we connect to Heavenly Father's purpose: "This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). And the way Heavenly Father accomplishes His purposes is through the doctrine of Christ. In 3 Nephi 11 the very first thing Christ does when He speaks to people in the Americas is baptism! He then goes on to testify that His doctrine is faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. He repeats himself several times throughout the chapter and it is obviously a very important thing to Him and Heavenly Father. And because it is so important it is taught throughout The Book of Mormon (and of course the Bible as well). Another place it is taught is in 2 Nephi 31. This is one of the few instances in scripture where both the voice of the Father and the Son are heard. 2 Nephi 31:2 Nephi says he must talk about the doctrine of Christ. Verses 11-12 Heavenly Father and Jesus testify of the importance of baptism and the Holy Ghost. Verses 14-15 Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father again testify of its importance and the importance of enduring to the end. "And I heard a voice from the Father, saying; Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." I know this doctrine is for all the world, including those who have already been baptized, those of other Christian faiths, and those all over the world. We must be converted to this before we can help others come closer to Christ.
I have been thinking a lot about faith recently; how I should develop it, why I need it and how it can actually become a force in my life. As I was studying and a little confused about it all, and the thought and feeling that came to me was: I have made covenants with Heavenly Father, I have promised to be obedient and faithful. I don't need to ever make the decision about whether to believe or doubt again, I have already made it and I just keep following in that path. I will continue to grow in understanding and knowledge and of course always ask Heavenly Father for more insight, but my choice is behind me. That was very comforting to me. I know Heavenly Father knows what I need to hear and what will help me the most, and I'm so grateful to know how to draw closer to Him so that I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit when he speaks to me.
Love,
Sister Lila Jenson
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