Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! This is a wonderful time of the year! I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and it is only through Him that I can receive a remission of my sins and the grace/power to keep going! I hope everyone who reads this will think about the gift they can give to Jesus Christ in their own lives. My gift to Christ is that I am going to try harder to not fear man more than God.


In the last weeks I have been considering how to be bolder. I'm not a bold or direct person (at all!), but I am seeing that being bold and direct is super important for missionary work. I realize now that I should have been bolder with a lot of people in my last two areas. I should have told them the consequences of their actions and helped them to see what was truly going on. Many times throughout my mission I have been frustrated by how people don't see how important the gospel is. But I realize now that I should have just told them, instead of being frustrated later that they don't get it. Especially with those who have already made covenants and promises to God.

In the last few months I have seen the importance of being bold, but I haven't known how to be bold. I started studying the words of Christ and some of the prophets and how they were bold and direct.

Here are some of my conclusions on how to be bold:

• Teach about both the blessings of the gospel and the consequences of sin (3 Nephi 9, 11, Enos 1:23, 1 Nephi 15:33-36)

• Use the words of Christ (2 Nephi 32:3, Alma 11:34-37)

• Be direct

• Follow the Spirit (Jacob 2:7, 2 Nephi 1:26-27)

• Hold people accountable to their commitments (1 Nephi 3:15-21)

• Teach "why" we live the gospel (1 Nephi 3:15-21)

• Ask them, as Christ would, to repent, rise up, and be better (Matt.5, 2 Nephi 1:21-23)

• Be confident in being a representative of Christ (Mosiah 2:9-10, Words of Mormon 1:17)

• Be consistent and follow-up (Jarom 1:12)

As a missionary, I could visit with people and chat with them all day long and help them feel important, etc, but if I don't tell the truth (and in some cases call them to repentance) then my time as a missionary would be wasted. As was said in Revelations 3:19, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent."

I'm not saying that we should rebuke our friends or siblings, but when we are in a place where we are responsible for others, especially when we are called to help them spiritually, we should follow the Spirit and not shy away from being bold with people. I am not a bold person but I am working on truly becoming a disciple of Christ in all my actions. I know that the Lord will support me in becoming more like Him.

I know there are consequences for sin. Sin truly pulls us down. Living the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can do in this life. If we want to be with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ then we had better show them that we are humble and willing to follow them. Because it is only through that that we will be able to learn all that we need to know to become like them.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love, Sister Lila Jenson